WJATO: The Queen's Hero
by tacobowler
Summary: Winston Alexander Jackson, son of Percy and Annabeth, has always wanted a quest.  But after gaining the powers of an unexpected Olympian, can Alex find his own way and make his own name? Or will he drown in the footsteps of his father? Rated T in case.
1. I Earn My Powers, Sort Of

Winston Jackson And The Olympians: The Queen's Hero

Disclaimers:

Rick Riordan is an amazing author and all the characters and most of the places in this story belong to him. I only humbly walk in his large footprints.

As I write this, the Heroes of Olympus series is being released. While I choose to include some of my favorite characters from _The Lost Hero_, I am not including the Heroes of Olympus series as cannon. Jason Grace, his friends and the Roman camp do not exist for the purpose of this story.

My story "Uncharted Territory" is a preface to this story. It is not required to understand this story but does provide interesting background information.

The fine print out of the way, enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: I Earn My Powers, Sort Of<p>

If you think you might be one of us, stop reading right now.

You're still reading aren't you?

I told you to stop. STOP!

You're still here? Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you.*

My name is Winston Alexander Jackson (yes, I was named for the British Prime Minister, my mom's a history geek, I've learned to live with it). Most people call me by my middle name, or Alex for short. At least when they're not mad at me, which most times they are.

Anyway, I used to believe as you do. I used to think that having the powers of the Greek gods and goddesses would be cool. And I had the possibility of getting the powers of two of the gods (Poseidon and Athena). You see, my father, Percy, is a son of Poseidon and my mother, Annabeth, is a daughter of Athena and they did some really cool things, but that is another story. Some mortal guy named Rick wrote it all down for them. He did a really good job too, you should check it out.

Sorry. I tend to ramble. You see, being the child or grandchild of a god is not all it is cracked up to be. The gods have blood which is geared for battle, which is really useful when a monster is attacking you and all you can defend yourself with is a toothpick. But when there are no monsters attacking it kind of sucks. The mortals call it ADHD, but we just call it normal. Our minds are also geared for reading ancient Greek, which really helps for like one week in Social Studies class but is really annoying the rest of the time. Mortals call it Dyslexia.

Even in my world, I'm not normal. I've known about this stuff since I was born, most demigods have to wait until they mature and start attracting monsters. But, since both of my parents are demigods, I grew up in Camp Half-Blood, watching all the fantastic quests and longing to get my chance but never getting it since I hadn't actually been claimed by any god and I didn't display any powers. All I got to do was sit around camp and watch everyone else have all the fun.

That all changed one sunny, Saturday afternoon. My mother was up on Olympus helping her mother with some repairs to her temple when Grover, my dad's best friend, came bounding up to Hera's cabin, which served as our home. (I would never insinuate that it is our cabin, I do not fancy getting turned into a toad and fed to a snake.)

"I think I may have found a half-blood," Grover whispered to my dad.

"You think?" Percy asked.

"Well, it's definitely a strong smell, but it's one I've never smelled before. I don't know if she's just wearing a strong perfume or if she's a half-blood."

"Does she display signs?" Percy prodded.

"The usual, dyslexia, ADHD and the like. But as far as pointers to a specific god, nothing. Well…" Grover said, trailing off.

"Well…?" my dad tempted.

Grover looked around nervously. "She seems to have mood swings, getting happier during the spring and summer months and sulky during the winter."

"That is a sign of Demeter," Percy said.

"But that's just it," Grover said, even quieter. "She doesn't smell like a child of Demeter. She smells different."

My dad thought for a while. "I'll go and check it out," he finally said. "Alex, look after the cabin, I wouldn't want anything to happen to it."

"No way!" I protested. "I'm not sitting here while you have all the fun. Come on, what could happen anyway?"

"A LOT," Percy and Grover said together.

"Come on, please?" I said. "You'll have three."

"Fine," my dad said after considering this argument. "But grab your sword."

I didn't stick around to let him change his mind, or realize that once we picked this girl up we'd have four. I went straight to my room, and picked up a bronze wristwatch and a small bronze ring and slipped them on. Both were gifts from my Cyclops uncle, Tyson. Both were magical items, the only cool things I had ever owned. I came back out to find Grover and my dad waiting, my dad wearing a similar watch. He eyed both of my items, as if making sure they were in working order. Seeming to approve, he told Grover to lead the way.

We headed across the grounds to the stables, where my dad picked out three pegusi for us to ride. He, of course, got Blackjack, but I was pleased that he picked an albino one named White Tiger for me. Tiger, as I called him, was born the same day that I was, and we had kind of clicked. I hadn't thought my dad had noticed.

"This one insisted on taking you," my dad said.

Oh yeah, I forgot. _He_ had the powers of my grandfather. And one of the perks of that was talking to horses. Grover could talk to them too, being a satyr and all. I already felt out of place. I patted Tiger on the snout and said thanks before getting on his back. I always talked to him. I didn't know if he could understand me or not (I couldn't hear him), but it had always seemed like the right thing to do.

"Okay, Grover. Lead on," Percy said.

If you ever have the chance to take a flight on a Pegasus, do it. It is amazing. The only way I can think of describing it is a motorcycle ride on steroids. The wind in your face, the breeze of the wings as they flap and glide, the beautiful landscape as it unfolds below you. It is truly a life changing experience. And it never gets old.

Grover led us across to upstate New York, to a little private school named _Charles Institute of Learning for Troubled Youth_. "Troubled?" I said.

"That's usually a good indication of a half-blood," my dad said. Grover only smiled. We landed inside the gates of the school and the pegusi started to munch on the lawn as soon as we got off. Grover looked longingly at them. I wondered what the pegusi looked like to the mortals through the mist, even horses would be out of place here (The mist is a thing which hides our world from mortal eyes, just in case you don't know).

Grover looked at his watch. "Lunch just started," he said. "Good timing, we can just stay next to the wall, out of sight. Watch from afar."

That's what the plan was at least. We entered the cafeteria unnoticed, and we slid up and sat at the far end of the corner table to watch lunch. It didn't take very long to spot the girl that Grover had asked about. And once I had seen her, I didn't bother to look anywhere else. There was no taking my eyes off of her.

"Look, three o'clock," Percy said without moving his head. Grover and I looked (I looked very reluctantly) and saw a man standing there. The man was six foot tall at least and was staring daggers into the girl Grover had pointed out.

"Monster," Grover said, sniffing the air. Suddenly the man turned his head and stared directly at me. It was extremely unnerving.

"I think he's spotted us," I said.

"Winston," my dad said. I nodded, picking up the use of my first name. "Get the girl out of here. Get her back to camp, you understand?" my dad asked. I nodded again. As much as I talked of adventure, I was terrified of actually having to fight a monster. That was dad's job.

"Here we go again," Grover said as he and my dad got up and walked toward the monster. I saw my dad pull a ball point pen out of his pocket. I walked over to the girl.

"Nice weather today, isn't it?" I said. Stupid thing to say.

"Do I know you?" she asked. Told you it was stupid.

Some people started to scream in the corner where the monster had been. I looked over. The man had grown to about eight feet tall and a scorpion tail was emerging from his rear end. My dad had uncapped _Riptide, _his weapon of choice, and Grover had grabbed several trays of food, one of which he was munching nervously.

"No, you don't know me, but if you want to live, you might want to change that pretty quick. Let's go!" I said, grabbing her and running as fast as I could in the opposite direction. Surprisingly, she didn't argue. We ran across the cafeteria, dodging flying food and student alike and out the doors into the main hall. I turned toward the door and froze.

Almost everyone was running as fast as they could toward the door, but two beautiful girls were standing still and looking right at us. The one on the left smiled at me, and immediately I was filled with a desire to do anything she wanted. I started to go towards her; I just wanted to touch her. She seemed too beautiful to be real.

"Hey, weird, creepy guy. You going to do something about this?" the girl we had come for said, causing me to stop momentarily. I turned back to her.

Suddenly I felt a tug in my gut, almost like someone had grabbed it with a hook and tugged really hard. I turned back to the girls. They were still standing in front of both doors with the smirk on their faces, but they definitely looked different. They now had flaming hair, and pale skin. They were standing slightly lopsided due to the fact that they had one fake bronze leg and one real donkey leg. Empousai. "Come little hero. Come a little closer," the empousa on the left said, "I want to give you a kiss."

"Get behind me," I said to the girl I was rescuing.

"What's wrong," the empousa on the right said.

"You're ugly," I said pulling my ring off my finger and throwing it in the air. As it came down it morphed into my three-and-a-half foot long sword, named _Goliath_ by my wonderful uncle, which I caught easily in my hand; hitting a button on my watch while doing so, causing it to form into a large bronze shield.

I had no idea what I was doing. The sword had been a gift, so I hadn't gotten rid of it. But it had never felt right and I wasn't particularly good with it. And these were empousai: professional monster hit-women. But I couldn't sit by and do nothing. I had to protect Airiana. Whoa, how did I know her name?

I didn't have time to figure that out because the first empousa lunged at me. Instinctually I raised my shield and swung the sword at her. But she hit me too hard and while my hand came through on the swing, the sword went flying behind me. _Great_, I thought. _Now what?_ The second empousa hurled herself towards me and I blocked her easily with the shield. But I had no way to kill them. And Airiana was still unarmed behind me. _That's where the first empousa went!_ I thought, but before I could look behind me, the second empousa came roaring back at me, claws extending.

"Where's your sword, half-blood?" she said.

Suddenly I felt something in my pocket. _Yes, a gift from the gods!_ I thought reaching into my pocket. My hand wrapped around a thin, cold object. I pulled it out and looked at it, my confidence falling through the basement floor.

The empousa laughed. "A toothpick? Oooo, I'm scared," she said. Sure enough I was looking at a tiny, bronze toothpick. _Gee thanks, _I thought, but even as I thought it, I somehow knew what to do. I twirled the toothpick and it extended into a shiny, celestial bronze gladius. The tiny sword felt different than my previous one, it was easy to hold, almost like an extension of my arm.

The empousa was only stunned for a short time before snapping out of it and lunging at me. My training, reflexes and instincts took over. I let her get deeper on me than I had before finally catching her with my shield and stabbing up with the gladius. The sword stabbed her torso and she vaporized in front of me, leaving the fake leg behind. I picked it up, folded it at the knee and stuffed it in my pocket.

"Well that was fun," Airiana said. (How did I know her name?) She was easily holding _Goliath_ at her side and the empousa was nowhere to be found. Suddenly the wall behind her exploded and my dad came flying out of the cafeteria. He scrambled up and I heard a roar from the cafeteria.

"Time to go," I said and the three of us raced for the door. We got out on the lawn and searched for our rides. It only took a couple of minutes to find the two grazing pegusi (Grover's must have found him), but that was long enough. The monster my dad had been fighting with had burst out of the doors. He was now a large lion with the scorpion tail tipped in a ball of spikes. He raised the tail and my dad and I raised our shields, blocking a volley of spikes.

"So what do we do now?" Airiana said behind me.

"Dad, grab the pegusi, we'll deal with this," I said. Somehow, I knew that Airiana had something up her sleeve. Well, if her dress had sleeves of course. She drew my sword, I drew my toothpick. The monster roared in laughter and I could only imagine what we looked like. But we didn't have any other options. The monster raised its tail again. I raised my shield.

"Oh no you don't," Airiana said.

The spikes never came. Instead a loud roar rang across the grounds. I looked out from behind my shield. The daisies growing in the flower beds beside the doors of the school had grown thicker and significantly longer. Two, one from each side, had wrapped around the tail and pulled it back down. Several others were shooting out, trapping the monsters legs and body down to the ground.

"What the…?" I asked looking at Airiana. But she had put the sword away and was moving her hands as if she was tying a knot. _Is she doing this? _I thought, but even as I thought it, I knew it was true.

"Nice work," my dad said as he pulled Blackjack and Tiger up behind us. My dad and I got on our respective rides and I pulled Airiana up onto Tiger.

"I hope you like flying," I said as we pushed off the ground leaving the monster yelling threats up at us from under a mountain of vegetation. As Tiger flew, Airiana grabbed my waist for support, which totally made it the best Pegasus ride ever.

*Yes. This is a lot like the first pages of _The Lightning Thief_. I took it from there, it is a fan fiction after all.


	2. I Confuse Chiron

A/N: Thanks to gumibear8745 for the review. It was greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: I confuse Chiron<p>

We landed as the camp was preparing for dinner, and just about then I realized how hungry I was. Several of the campers began to whoop as they noticed us. I turned and looked at Airiana, whose bright green dress was scratched and torn in several places. It was a great look for her, showing off her slender but full body and accenting her soil brown eyes and flowing, auburn hair, but I think she was beginning to get embarrassed.

"Let's go to the big house and get you some new clothes," I said.

"That's a good idea," she said. "Where is the big house?" I pointed out the huge house in the middle of camp and we began to head up to it. "I'm Airiana by the way, Airiana Wilson; well technically it's Wildaughter, my dad's name is Will," she said, holding her hand out to shake mine.

_Dad's name Will, therefore goddess mother _I thought. "Alexander Jackson, but most people just call me Alex. And my dad's name is Percy, not Jack," I said.

"Percy huh," she said looking back at my dad who was attempting to feed the horses. "He seems to really like horses."

"Well he should, being the son of Poseidon and all," I said.

"There is only one God and Poseidon is not Him," she informed me.

"If you're speaking of the metaphysical, or 'big G God' as we call him, he is definitely more powerful and stuff. But we don't deal with the ruler of the universe, that's the Olympian's job. We just deal with the Olympians."

She turned me aside and looked me straight in the eye. "The Greek gods aren't real," she said sternly.

"Gee thanks," a robust man said coming up to us. "Try to turn over a new leaf and this is what I get?" Mr. D said.

"Meet one," I said. "This is Mr. D, god of wine."

"How do you do?" Mr. D said, conjuring a glass of wine out of thin air. It quickly turned to a can of diet coke. "I thought I got a reward for the battle!" he screamed at the sky. The comment was met with thunder. Mr. D shrugged.

"What was that?" Airiana asked.

"My father's reaction to my comment," Mr. D said plainly. "Welcome to camp, don't be late for dinner," he said, heading for the pavilion.

"Was that really Dionysus?" she asked.

"Shhh!" I said as he turned and glared back at her. "Yes it is, but whatever you do, don't say his name. Names have power. Not saying them is usually good in this world."

We arrived at the big house where Chiron was already waiting with a Camp t-shirt. I went back to see if my mother had a pair of jeans for Airiana.

My dad had gotten to Hera's cabin before I did and my parents were arguing. They didn't argue much, but when they did I usually tried to stay in the corner and remain invisible. They were, after all, demigods and if things got ugly, they got REALLY ugly. But today I headed directly for them for some reason.

"He could have been killed!" my mother was saying.

"He's the reason I wasn't!" my dad responded.

I felt a tug at my gut and the words just came out. "Hey, cool it! The past is in the past, let's just make Airiana feel welcome ok?" I said. Whoa, where did that come from? I expected my parents to scold me, but they seemed to come into and out of a trance.

"You're right. Percy I'm sorry," my mother said. "Alex, what did you need?" she asked.

I stood in shock. What had just happened? "Airiana needs some jeans," I said. "Her dress got kind of destroyed in the battle." My mother went and got a couple pair while my dad eyed me suspiciously. "Something is different about you," he said as my mother returned with the jeans. I took the jeans back up to the big house without looking to long at him. I handed the jeans to Airiana and she went upstairs to change.

"So, who is she?" Chiron asked.

"Airiana Wilson," I said. "All we know is that she has a mortal dad. She shows major signs of being a daughter of Demeter, but according to Grover she doesn't smell like it."

"Where is Grover?" Chiron asked.

"Dad didn't seem too worried about leaving. I assumed that Grover had told Percy where he was going," I said. "Hey, I've got a question." I told him about what had happened in the cabin and how I had suddenly known Airiana's name after feeling a tug in my gut.

He looked at me. I'm nothing to look at really, 5 foot nothing and scrawny but pure muscle. I have my father's (and grandfather's) jet black hair but my eyes are more of a brown mushy color. Eyes always tell the demigod. Perhaps that was why Chiron always seemed to stare into them. This time there was a look of shock on his face as if something were different. "Your eyes have changed," he said. "You haven't been talking to any banished Titans have you?"

"You mean Kronos?" I asked. Thunder rolled and Chiron quickly shushed me. "Sorry," I said.

"Yes, that's who I mean," he said.

"No, why?" I asked.

"Your eyes have turned a light golden color," he said. "Not as strong as Luke's when he was hosting my father, but definitely golden."

I rushed over to the television and peered at my reflection. It was faint, but the brown was definitely gone. My eyes appeared almost royal blue with a faint golden outline, like a silver lining on a cloud. As I focused on each color it seemed like that color became more prominent. "What does it mean?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. I've never seen eyes like those or powers like the ones you described. It could just be a gift from the gods."

"Speaking of a gift from the gods, I received this during the battle," I said pulling out the toothpick and twirling it into the gladius. Chiron seemed extremely interested.

"It's a new weapon," he said after looking at it for several minutes during which Airiana returned. I introduced her to the centaur. "See, the weapon has no name inscribed. I think it's yours to name," Chiron said.

"Sabertooth," I said and the letters magically engraving themselves on the blade. Chiron looked at me impressed. "What?" I asked, "it sounded right."

"Hey that reminds me, this is yours," Airiana said taking off the ring that was _Goliath. _

"No, keep it," I said. "I have _Sabertooth _now, and besides, it never quite worked for me anyway."

"Thanks," she said, slipping the ring back on. The dinner horn blew and we headed for the pavilion.

"Conch shell," Airiana said. I smiled in acknowledgment as we headed for the pavilion. I directed her to the Hermes cabin and decided to sit there with her. Technically I was allowed since no god had claimed me, and sitting with her seemed like a really good idea.

"Hey Alex, where were you man? How am I supposed to get a ball game going without my star point guard?" asked a tall African American man who was walking up to the table.

"Saving Airiana," I said. She hit me and reminded me who exactly did the saving. "Jayzon, Airiana Wilson. Airiana, Jayzon Green, son of Apollo."

"Pleased to meet you," Jayzon said, putting way too much emphasis on the first word.

"Back off, she just got here man," I said a little too quickly.

"Hey, it's cool man," he said. Just then Chiron stomped his hoof and the room got quiet as Jayzon made his way across to the Apollo table. I quickly told Airiana how to fill her glass and I filled mine with Mountain Dew. Great stuff.

"To the gods," Chiron said. "To the gods," we all repeated. The woods began to move and wood nymphs came out carrying all sorts of delicious foods. I piled my plate high with the spaghetti, my favorite, and picked out several fruits and vegetables. Even though she was at the Athena table, my mother was always watching. I got a nice juicy apple for my grandfather.

"What are they doing?" Airiana asked as the tables got up one my one, walked to the bonfire in the middle of the pavilion and scraped the best portion of their food into the fire.

"Burnt offering to the god of their choice," I said, adding "They like the smell" after I saw her face.

Airiana went first, "Whoever you are, please tell me what's going on," she said. I gave my apple to Poseidon and returned to a great meal at table eleven. Although, eating with the children of the god of thieves is not fun when you got more spaghetti than anyone else.

Chris Williams, cabin eleven's counselor, led Airiana to her temporary home and I caught up with Jayzon on his way to the campfire. "Hey, sorry about earlier," I said. "I didn't mean to snap."

"Na, it's all cool," he said. "So, who's is she?"

"We don't know. But if they keep their promise to dad we won't have to wait long. You should have seen her though, really awesome." We took our seats at the campfire.

I love Camp Half-Blood campfires. The Greeks have all the best camp songs, and if I can get a seat next to a son or daughter of Apollo it makes them even better. The food digesting in my stomach and the stories which Chiron tells are better than anything the mortal world can offer. This one was made even better when Airiana joined me after the tour of her cabin.

We had just sung "Ode to Hercules" and were settling in to listen to Chiron tell us the tale of the great quest of Abraham Lincoln when it happened.

I had always wanted it to happen. I had dreamed about it for as long as I could remember. Usually I would be standing in the creek, or standing on the beach, or canoeing on the lake. Occasionally I would be at the campfire. The whole camp would gasp and then burst into applause. Chiron would hail me as son of Poseidon or Athena and I would finally be accepted as one of the group. I would be allowed to go on quests. I could use my powers and my parents would help me learn. All I needed was the little glowing medallion to appear over my head with either a trident or an owl, the symbols of my grandfather and grandmother respectively, letting me know where to go next.

Instead I had sat idly by and watched as the other campers, the "real" half-bloods, got their medallions. Oh, I put up a good face, smiled and congratulated them and all that jazz. But at night I would plead with Poseidon (who was secretly my favorite, don't ever tell Athena that) to just claim me already. Or at least tell me what I needed to do to earn his respect. But the medallion never came. Each gasp at the campfire was for someone else.

So you can understand how, when everyone gasped on this particular night and looked at me, I looked immediately at Airiana. After all, she had just arrived and she needed claiming. And I had begun to give up hope that I would ever be claimed. But she was looking above me. Panic suddenly overcame me. Yes, I had always wanted it to happen, but now that I was beginning to understand that it had I wanted to take it back. Getting claimed would mean moving out of cabin two and into either cabin three or cabin six. It meant a complete change of life. But such was the life of a demigod. So I took a deep breath and looked up to see if it was a trident or owl.

It was a tiara. (I would later be corrected: it actually was a diadem)

I didn't understand. I had always been told that I was either the property of Poseidon or Athena. Who sent the tiara? I looked at Chiron; now was always the time that he hailed whoever had been claimed and announced who had claimed them. But he seemed as confused as I was. "That's not possible," he said. "Annabeth was the mother! I saw it with my own eyes! I caught the baby!"

A silence followed as the medallion stayed over my head, as if waiting for Chiron. "It's ok," my mother finally said, looking everywhere but at me or my dad.

Chiron cleared his throat loudly before almost whispering, "Hail Winston Alexander Jackson, son of Hera."


	3. I Become a Science Project

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO and graciously thank Rick Riordan for allowing us to write fan fiction.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: I Become a Science Project<p>

The next morning found me sitting at the ping pong table in the Big House. Sitting around the table with me was Chiron, my mother and father and Mr. D.

"Care to explain?" Chiron asked.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "When Percy and I got married, I realized we had a problem. We both wanted to stay at camp, but I believed we had no place to stay. I didn't believe that Poseidon would allow a daughter of Athena in his cabin and I knew Athena didn't want Percy anywhere near hers. And besides, we all know what happened when Poseidon had some...uh..._fun_ in a building dedicated to Athena. I don't fancy snakes for hair."

"Uh, gross mom!" I said, realizing the story that she was referencing. Poseidon and Medusa were having some…fun is a good way to describe it, in Athena's temple. When Athena found them, she punished Medusa and her sisters by turning them into the three Gorgons. I didn't think that Athena would have the same feelings about her cabin, but I was with my mother in not taking risks. But it was not something that I needed to think about. It was one thing to think about that stuff, but to think about your mom doing it? GROSS!

"Anyway," Annabeth continued, "I thought there might be a way around the problem. Hera is the goddess of marriage; maybe she would let a married couple use her cabin. I approached her on Olympus one day and asked her what I needed to do to earn her blessing. After all, we weren't on the best of terms."

"You told me you knew we could use the cabin," my dad said. "You said Hera let us use it for free. What did you do?"

"She only required one price. She said that she was very envious of the other gods because of their heroes. Even Artemis had her hunters, but she had nothing. And she refused to cheat on Zeus so she couldn't get one the normal way. But there was another way. She said she would bless the marriage with child. If I dedicated the child to her, she would let us use the cabin forever."

"It doesn't work like that," Chiron said. "The gods' powers can be passed onto their grandchildren only because their blood still flows through them. Just because you dedicated Alex to her doesn't mean she can actually transfer her powers to him."

"My dear Chiron," Mr. D interrupted. "You are forgetting something. The gods DNA doesn't work the same way as mortals. Hera is the mother of the gods. Whether we are officially her children or not, she is our mother. Therefore, in theory, her powers reside in every demigod if she was able to claim them. If the child had been dedicated to Hera, she would gain first right of redemption before Poseidon and Athena."

"Are you seriously suggesting that he could have certain, special powers related to this claim?" Chiron asked.

"Actually I'm rather excited," Mr. D said, sipping his diet coke. "Hera is notoriously difficult on heroes. I can't wait to see how she tortures her own."

"There have been some things which were abnormal yesterday," I said. "What would Hera's powers be?"

"We don't know," Chiron said. "It's never happened before."

"I've thought about that," my mother said. "Hera is the goddess of motherhood and marriage. Alex, I believe that you would turn into supermom and that you would be extremely loyal to those who earn your trust. If you ever get married, you would never cheat on her either. Then there is what happened last night."

"What happened last night?" Chiron asked.

"Percy and I were fighting because he took Alex along on Grover's little quest. Alex came in and told us to stop and immediately I felt a calmness waive over me and Percy and I began getting along fine. I'm thinking he might be able to stop arguments as well. At least among family members."

"That doesn't sound like my dear Queen at all," Mr. D said. Thunder rolled, but he just rolled his eyes in response and drank his Diet Coke. "I'm going to go take a nap."

"Just because she has the power doesn't mean she uses it," Annabeth said. "There's always a power play involved when gods use their powers on each other. She may choose not to stop every conflict, or wait until the last moment. Heroes are not bound by the same oaths as the gods."

"Either way," my dad said, "Alex's life is forever altered. And, as Hera cabin counselor, he must approve our continued residence there."

"What?" I asked.

"You are the only child of Hera and that makes you Hera cabin counselor. May we use your cabin?" Dad asked.

"Of course," I said.

"That is settled then," Chiron said. "Alex, will you show our newest camper around? I'm sure that she is rather overwhelmed at the moment."

"She is," Airiana said, emerging from the TV room. "Orientation video is over."

We walked out onto the grounds and began the tour. I showed her the archery range, where Jayzon "missed" and shot an arrow about three feet in front of us. "Sorry," he said, winking at me. "Nice shot, son of Apollo," I chided back.

"So, it didn't sound like Chiron quite believed your mother," Airiana said as I was showing her the stables.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He didn't seem to believe what she said about dedicating you and all that stuff," she said.

"You were supposed to be watching the orientation video," I said.

"I, um, kind of listened to the more interesting thing," she said sheepishly. "I don't like to be told what to do."

"How much did you hear?" I asked, stopping by the sword fighting arena.

She blushed, "Everything," she said.

"Great," I said, but smiled at her. That caused her to blush even more.

"Do you believe her," she asked.

"Yes," I said. "She's telling the truth."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"I don't know, I just do. I can't explain it. Maybe there is something to this Hera business. I just..." I started.

"You just what?" she asked.

"This is the sword fighting arena," I said, restarting the tour. "Here is where I'll school you with the sword." She dropped the subject and started walking along with me. "Of course, you know about the cabins," I said, waving hi to the Davis brothers. They scowled back.

"That was nice," Airiana said. "Who are they?"

"Jim and Jeff Davis, sons of Ares," I said as we passed by the mess hall. "Children of Ares don't get along with too many people. Don't take it personally."

"Whoa," she said, stopping in her tracks.

"And this is the climbing wall," I said as we watched Sarah Johnson, daughter of Hephaestus, scale the wall which was in full lava mode. "That's so not fair," I said.

"I know, who challenges people to climb a flaming wall?" she asked.

"No, it's not fair that Hephaestus campers are immune to the lava," I said. "Besides, we all climb that thing."

"You?" she asked.

"Yes, of course," I lied. I had never touched the thing before in my life. She raised an eyebrow. "You don't think I can?" I asked, starting to get a little annoyed.

"That's not what I meant," she said, but I was already off. The wall was still in full lava mode, but it had opened back up for the next challenger. I looked up at it. This was certainly on my top ten stupidest things I had ever done list, but I didn't care. I was a demigod now. No one was going to tell me I couldn't do something.

I started up the wall. The first third of the wall was easy, but as I rose the handholds began to shrink. Halfway up, one of the holds retreated into the wall when I reached for it. Lava shot out across the wall three quarters of the way up. I hadn't noticed it, but my reflexes allowed me to spin out of the way. Then the wall began to close. I was only just able to jump over the top as it slammed shut. I tried to get up, but my shirt was stuck in the wall.

That's when I noticed the heat. I looked down. My shirt was free of the wall, but only because it was also on fire. I did the only thing I could, I ditched the shirt before it burned me to a crisp and repelled down the back of the wall.

"You've got to be the stupidest guy I've ever met," Airiana said as I landed.

"Thanks," I said. She laughed.

I continued the tour. The Aphrodite cabin was sitting in the amphitheater for Ancient Greek with my mother and they whooped and hollered as I walked by. "WINSTON ALEXANDER JACKSON PUT A SHIRT ON!" my mother screamed. But Airiana seemed to be taking offense to the Aphrodite jeers, which made it all totally worth it.

"You sure everyone is related here?" she asked as we passed by the lake.

"Yup, we're pretty dysfunctional around here. You don't want to do that," I said as she picked up a rock to skip it across the lake.

"Watch me," she said and she threw it. It skipped once, twice and was ready for a third time. But instead of landing on the water and sinking in, the water rose to meet it mid-bounce. The rock was lifted up, turned around and sent flying back at Airiana. I caught it right in front of her forehead as a couple nymphs rose out of the lake and stuck out their tongues at her.

"And that's why," I said. "They don't exactly like people throwing stuff in their lake."

"That's it, I've gone insane," she said.

"Well, it's easier after the orientation video," I said. "But it could be worse." She looked inquisitorially at me. I took her to Thalia's pine tree and scratched Peleus, the guardian dragon, behind his ear. The Golden Fleece shone on the lower branches of the trees and the grass was the greenest I'd ever seen it. We sat down looking out over the camp.

"It's just so much," she said.

"I agree," I said. "But at least you are learning at camp. This tree hasn't always been here. It's called Thalia's tree for a reason. A couple years before my dad came here, there was a daughter of Zeus named Thalia. She learned about all this stuff out there, fighting monsters at every turn. She teamed up with a son of Hermes named Luke and my mother. Together they survived attacks every day. But Thalia's presence was against this oath that Zeus, Poseidon and Hades took not to have any more kids. Hades wanted her dead and he unleashed all Hades on her. They almost made it too, but they got surrounded on this hill. Thalia fought off an army of monsters while Mom and Luke made it safely to camp. As she died, Zeus turned her into this tree."

"That's terrible," Airiana said.

"Like I said, you at least can prepare before battling monsters."

"No," she said. "It's terrible that Hades would try to kill his own niece. I mean, Thalia is family."

I turned away. "Well, what Mr. D said is true. Hera is known for doing just that. She threw her own immortal son off Olympus because she didn't like the way he looked. She has chased the children of Zeus around with monsters for millennia. Hades has done it too, though not as often. We are often used by the gods; Zeus's kids tend to get caught up in it. They've kind of gotten used to it."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," a voice behind us said. I turned around and found myself looking at a girl with bright, sky blue eyes. She was wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans with chains in the pockets. She radiated a faint white light and there was a small tiara in her black hair.

"Thalia!" I said, getting up. "What a pleasant surprise. How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," she said, winking.

"Wait," Airiana said. "_The_ Thalia? I thought you got turned into a tree."

"I got better," Thalia said.

"What brings you here?" I asked.

"I do," a young girl with amber hair, pulled back in pig tails, said. "And you bring me here." I bowed, motioning for Airiana to do the same. Airiana just looked at me curiously.

"Why are you bowing?" she asked.

"It is the proper thing to do for a goddess," I said, standing back up. "Artemis, meet Airiana Wilson, daughter of somebody. We're still trying to figure that out. Airiana, meet Artemis, goddess of the hunt."

"You're a goddess?" she asked. I expected Thalia to draw weapons in defense, but instead she just laughed.

"Not what you expected?" Artemis asked. "I could appear as anything I wanted, but I do prefer a young girl. There is innocence in this form, innocence I hope you never lose." She turned to Thalia. "Go and make the Hunters at home in my cabin. Then you can catch up with your friends. I must speak with the centaur and my darling cousin." And with that she marched off down the hill.

"You get used to it," Thalia told Airiana and she motioned for Airiana to follow her and the Hunters down to cabin eight. I got the distinct impression that I no longer existed.

* * *

><p>I sat alone at the newly created Hera table in the dining pavilion that night. Airiana had started at the Hermes table, but joined the Hunters at the Artemis table when they extended their invitation. She waved at me when she saw that I was looking which made me feel slightly better. Slightly.<p>

Mr. D taped his glass to get our attention once we had all filled our plates with the delicious barbecue. "Yes, yes. Great to be here. Blah, blah, blah," he said. "It's sooo great to be blessed by the presence of Artemis and her Hunters today. Be sure to ignore her guys, she'll ignore you." An arrow suddenly grew in his plate, fresh from Thalia's bow, but he ignored it. "We have a new camper, Andra Johnson," Chiron taped him and said something in his ear. "Sorry, Airiana Wilson or whatever. Hello, Andra, please don't die too quickly, it's not very entertaining. Also, Chiron has asked me to tell you that there will be a game of capture the flag tomorrow against the Hunters as is tradition. Assuming of course that the hunters are still here tomorrow." Another arrow grew from his plate. "So, the normal festivities over, proceed gorging yourselves with this wonderful food. Thank you."

I took my plate and grabbed the juiciest piece of watermelon I could find. "Artemis," I said. "Please give me a chance." It was a strange request. I didn't know if Airiana liked me or not, but I felt like she was already gone. She was so happy with the hunters and there was a feeling that I didn't quite recognize in my gut. I just knew I didn't like the feeling.

I looked at table 8 when I sat down. The hunters were all laughing and having a great time with each other and with Airiana, but Artemis was staring straight at me. She never moved her mouth, but I distinctly heard her voice in my head: _They always have a choice. A girl is never forced to do anything_. I nodded a thank you back and Artemis returned to the Hunters' conversation.

"Hey Alex," Chris Williams said, "Come join us, you look lonely." I got up and walked over.

"Is that ok?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, all are always welcome at Hermes table," he said. I sat down next to a girl who looked to be about thirteen. I had spent so much time at the Hermes table, but I had never bothered to get to know her.

"Hi," I said, extending my hand. "Alex Jackson."

"I know who you are, son of Hera," she said, meeting my hand. "Lily Harper, daughter of Hermes."

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"I arrived last year," she said. "I've sort of blended in. Hermes kids can kind of do that. I totally get that you don't remember me."

"Don't get too attached to the thief thing," I said. "Hermes is really cool with all the medical and messaging powers. He's way more than a thief."

She smiled. "I wish more people saw that," she said.

I snuck a peak at Airiana as I reached for my ribs. She was looking at me with a look I recognized as jealousy. I smiled as I struck up a conversation with Chris and Lily. Maybe I had a chance after all.


	4. Airiana Steals My Thunder

**A/N: Many thanks to Dani9513 and Iamtotallyluvinmylife for reviewing. They are much appreciated. Yes, he is named Winston, blame Annabeth :-) I'll work on the family interactions thing.**

**Disclaimers: I still don't own PJO. If I did I would be much richer.**

**Also, I do not own Shane Ever Collins. She is the main character in a trilogy by gumibear8745. The stories are really good and I highly suggest reading them. Shane used by permission. Thanks gumibear8745.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Airiana Steals My Thunder<p>

That night I had my first demigod nightmare.

I was standing in a large room, brightly lit by thousands of torches along the walls and a bright hearth in the middle of the room. Around the hearth were twelve giant thrones, set in the shape of a U. The throne room of Olympus. Two of the thrones were occupied. In the largest at the base of the U sat a man in a full three piece suit and wearing a very serious expression. His eyes were sky blue and flashes of lightning seemed to flash across them. Zeus, god of the Sky.

A little down from him, a throne which seemed to be made entirely from growing plants was filled by a woman wearing a beautiful golden dress made entirely out of wheat. Her eyes glowed the yellow eyes of harvest. Demeter, goddess of the Harvest. She was smiling as it was summer and her daughter had been returned to her.

"It's time already," Zeus said. "She has been at camp for three days already. If you don't claim her soon, Percy will think we are going back on our oath. It's bad enough that you waited until she turned 13 to get her to camp."

"My Lord Zeus," Demeter said. "I agree with you. It worries me that the child has not yet been claimed. Poseidon's boy is not someone to quarrel with. We need him on our side."

"Then you will claim her?" Zeus asked.

Demeter smiled. "I would if I could. But the girl is not mine."

* * *

><p>I awoke with a start. I was in my bed and from the look of cabin 8, it was midnight. It took me a long time to understand what I had seen. The gods were worried that Airiana remained unclaimed. They were right after all; it had been over three days now. They were getting dangerously close to violating the oath. Of course I had been wondering who her godly parent was the entire time that she had been here. I had seen what she had done to the manticore, the way she had manipulated those plants. I had assumed Demeter as well, but Demeter had just said that she wasn't Airiana's mother.<p>

And there was a more troubling matter. Zeus didn't know. I had always assumed that at least the gods knew who was who's, even if we didn't. Zeus had known that my father was Poseidon's son months before he was actually claimed. But Zeus didn't know who Airiana's mother was, and if he didn't know that was probably bad news. I decided not to worry about it: when the time was right (and hopefully that was soon) Airiana would be claimed.

I walked out of the cabin as the sun was just creeping over the horizon. The early morning dew was still floating over the grass. The sun reflected off the golden sides of cabin seven, seeming to set the cabin on fire. I averted my eyes, and noticed something across the field. Thalia was sitting on cabin 8's porch talking to Airiana. My heart fell through my feet. Thalia turned to me and smiled, motioning me over. I recovered my heart from the ground and walked over.

"Take heart Alex, it's just a friendly conversation. Turns out neither of us could sleep," Thalia said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Well, turns out being the Lieutenant of the goddess of the night, doesn't do much for your sleep schedule," Thalia said.

"What about you?" I asked Airiana.

"I'm worried," she said. "I keep waiting for my mother to claim me. I don't get why Demeter's waiting so long."

"It's not Demeter," I said before I could stop myself. They both looked at me inquisitorially so I told them about my dream.

"That is strange," Thalia said. "I was convinced after she told me her abilities. I must think on this."

I laughed. "You're starting to talk like your goddess."

She scowled. "You'll pay for that tonight, Alex Jackson," she said with a smile.

I turned to Airiana. "I'm heading to the Big House to tell Chiron about the dream. Care to join me?"

She smiled. "Of course, _Your Highness_."

* * *

><p>My father joined me at the Hera table for breakfast. My mother was spending the entire day with the Athena cabin, preparing for the Capture the Flag match in the evening. The camp had elected Athena the leaders by an almost unanimous vote: Ares had voted for themselves.<p>

"So, what were you and Airiana doing in the Big House?" he asked. I jumped back surprised. "I saw you coming out," he said.

"We were discussing her mother with Chiron."

"Do we know who that is yet?" my father asked.

"No," I said. "Chiron told us to be patient. He said that it is impossible to know for sure until she is claimed."

"He's right," my father said.

"I just feel like it's important," I said.

"I have the same feeling," he said. "But the fact that it is important won't speed up the process." I dropped the subject.

"Do you think we have a chance tonight?" I asked. The Hunters had never lost in Capture the Flag.

"Yes," he said. "Not a good one, but a chance. Your mother will have us ready though."

* * *

><p>The day's activities went by in a flash and I found myself at sword fighting before I knew it. Dad was teaching the class which I was taking with the Hermes cabin. It was the only class I had with them.<p>

"Hey Dad," I said when I entered the arena.

"That's Mr. Jackson," he said softly.

"Sorry Da...uh Mr. Jackson," I said.

We all grabbed a weapon, if we didn't have one already, and took a seat in the amphitheater. Chris Williams sat next to me, but most of the cabin sat opposite me looking at me like I was infected with the Plague. I had noticed that most of the campers had begun to treat me like that. I guess I couldn't blame them; no one knew what to expect from the child of Hera.

My father started class, "All right, today we will be talking about sword length. It just so happens that we have a perfect pairing to show this with! Will Ms. Wilson and Mr. Jackson please step forward?" I stepped forward with a look of disgust on my face. Why did Dad always have to torture me in class? "All right, please take out your weapons," he said. I pulled _Sabertooth_ out of my pocket and twirled it into gladius mode. She took _Goliath _off her finger and flipped it into the full three and a half foot blade which she held with ease, pointing it at my chest. I activated my shield.

"Put the shield away Mr. Jackson," dad said. I reluctantly followed the order. "Now, we have one blade which is clearly longer than the other. You may think that this is a disadvantage to the one with the shorter blade, but this is not necessarily the case. Remember, the longer a sword is, the longer it takes to move and the more force it takes to use. Also, you may notice that Airiana is already losing the strength to hold the sword. This is common. Most longswords are designed to be used with a two handed grip. However, Winston here has a free hand for a shield. Sword fighting is about knowing your strengths and taking advantage of your opponent's weaknesses. Now, let's see how well you two know that information."

He motioned for us to fight. I began to circle around her, the longer I forced her to hold _Goliath_, the better my chances. I knew how heavy that weapon was. She attacked much faster than I thought, slicing down toward my head from above. I blocked easily, deflecting it as I turned out of the way. I spun back around and faced her as she readied herself again. I could see the sweat beginning to form on her face. She came again, bringing her sword down from above. This time I sidestepped the blow, got up close and stabbed. My sword found the hilt of hers and I twisted with all my might. Her sword came flopping out of her hand and landed on the ground a few feet away.

"Great," Dad said, stopping the fight. "As you can see, a longer sword can be beaten. Thank you Airiana, take a seat." He turned toward me. _Uh oh_ I thought. "However, a longer sword can also be a weapon," he said, pulling a pen from his pocket which he magically transformed into his own sword: _Riptide_.

He pointed the sword at me, which I knew was the start of the fight. He was an expert with this sword, staying just out of my reach, jabbing at me with annoying regularity. I tried everything I knew, but unfortunately I had learned it all from him. I decided that there was only one way I could win: trying something neither of us had thought of before. He jabbed at my foot and I deflected the blade down, jumped on it and kicked off into the air, slicing down. Dad rolled to his right and pushed off the ground, coming back at me. I landed and tried to roll myself, but as I got up I felt his blade hit _Sabertooth's _hilt and force my blade out of my hand just as the conch shell sounded for dinner.

My father smiled at me as he extended a hand to help me up. "Good job," he said. "I think that sword fits you well."

"I would have beaten you if I had my shield," I said.

"I know," he said. "That's why I didn't let you have it."

We trudged up to the Pavilion and I made my way over toward the Hera table, but my father caught my arm and pointed to the Poseidon table. Sitting there was a woman just a few years younger than my dad. She looked just like him, long black hair and deep green eyes.

"Shane!" I yelled and ran over to great my favorite aunt. She got up and gave me a big hug before greeting my father.

"Shane Ever Collins, what brings you here?" Dad asked.

"I wouldn't miss a game of Capture the Flag against the Hunters," she said. "Besides, I hear Winston here had a big announcement the other day."

"I told you to call me Alex," I said. She winked in reply.

"Sorry little buddy, we'll always know you as Winston," she said.

I reluctantly left my dad and walked over to the Hera table. I looked around the Pavilion as my glass filled with Mountain Dew. The Athena table was huddled together making last minute plans. The Ares table was looking at them in disgust. I hoped that their pride wouldn't get in our way during the game. It was going to be difficult enough if we were all on the same page. I looked to see what the Hunters were doing but their table was empty. That was strange, but didn't think too long about it. My mother would have us ready for anything they could throw at us.

I filled my plate with fruits, vegetables and barbecue ribs and walked to the brazier, shaving off the choice ribs and a juicy apple and offered them to Hera. I caught the wind as the offering went up to the sky; it smelled of freshly roasted coffee beans. I totally envied the gods.

I sat back down and took one bite of my carrots before Jayzon came over. "Hey Alex, how's it been going. I haven't seen you around much these last couple days. You not getting too good for a lowly son of Apollo now are ya?"

"Never, Jay," I said. "It's just taking some time to get used to the new schedule that's all. I'll be back on the court in no time."

"It's cool man. So, got any juicy news on the new girl?" he asked.

"Nope," I said. "But you'll be the first to know if I do. So, about that arrow you almost killed me with yesterday."

"Lol bud, you know if I had wanted to kill you I would have. I don't miss," he said.

"I figured, but just making sure," I said. "You seemed interested in Airiana the other day.

"I am," he said, "but not that interested. You seem absolutely entranced. I've never seen you like that man. I don't know what Hera is doing to you, but don't let her ruin you man. You need to stay the Alex we all love, that's the best person to be."

"Thanks man," I said. Just then there was an audible gasp in the camp. I looked up. Every eye in the Pavilion was turned to the Hermes table where Airiana was returning from giving her offering. She was glowing a radiant, golden yellow light. Suddenly, flowers erupted from her hair, giving her a crown of every color flower imaginable. Her eyes turned from their radiating white to a rainbow of colors, always one color and yet all colors at once, as if I was looking into a prism from the heart of the underworld. Her clothes, a orange camp half blood t-shirt and jeans, slithered and turned into an intricately woven green dress made entirely from plant stems which budded into pure cotton balls near the top of the dress and along the straps. She looked beautiful. There was no makeup, none of the glamour of an Aphrodite claiming but she still radiated an overpowering, natural beauty. It was almost more beautiful than if she had had all the makeup and stuff. The dress waived in the wind like wheat. Flowers sprouted from Nico's crack in the Pavilion floor creating a sea of daisies, roses and tulips. A golden medallion appeared over her head with a red and yellow spherical fruit inside it.

"Is that an apple?" one of the Demeter campers asked.

"No," I said, realizing what it was. "It's a Pomegranate."

"Correct," Chiron said, stomping his hoof to get everyone's attention. Everyone rose and bowed toward Airiana. "Hail Airiana Wilson, daughter of Persephone."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: School is coming back very soon. Chapter 5 is almost done and Chapter 6 is in the works but the updates will slow down as school gets into full swing. Thanks for putting up with it. I promise they will be worth the wait!**


	5. My Mother Gets Hunted

Many thanks to gumibear8745 and The Winged Goddess of Freedom for their reviews. Nico was already in chapter 5, I couldn't leave him out could I?

Disclaimer: I still don't own PJO and gumibear8745 still owns Shane Collins.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: My Mother Gets Hunted<p>

I decided to sleep through the campfire in preparation for Capture the Flag. This was a normal thing for me to do; I needed my strength to be of any use against the real demigods. But I forgot that I was a real demigod now, complete with real demigod dreams. I really didn't need a nightmare before the game.

As soon as I closed my eyes I was in a dark, vast land. After my eyes got used to the faint lighting from the crystals on the distant walls I realized that I was standing on the edge of a HUGE flat expanse. In the very distance I could see what looked like bridges crawling across the landscape. The bridges gave it away: The Fields of Asphodel. Daedalus was supposed to be building overpasses to relieve congestion as his "punishment." Judging by all the suspension bridges and interesting, intricate designs, one had four lanes which waved up and down and weaved between each other as they went through the field, he was thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

"We have a problem, my Lord," a voice behind me said, taking my attention away from admiring Daedalus's work.

"This is certainly a surprise. You normally call much later. What problem warrants this early call?" a darker voice said next to me. I turned but there were only some ghosts there minding their own business.

"A daughter of Persephone has come to camp," the first voice said.

"And that is a problem how?" the second asked.

"She could be chosen for the quest," the first voice said.

"Is this likely?" the second voice inquired.

"Yes, he is close to her," the first voice said.

"Hmm, this would be a problem," the darker voice replied. "She could ruin everything."

"What should I do?" the first voice asked.

"Take care of her. Make sure she doesn't go on the quest," the second voice said.

"Yes my Lord," the first voice said.

"Wait," the darker voice said. "I sense another presence. Who else is here? SHOW YOURSELF!"

I willed myself to wake and woke with a start. I was sleeping on the couch in the living room of Hera's cabin. The songs of the campfire were still echoing across the camp. I decided to forgo more sleep. The sound of that creepy voice still rang in my ears as if calling me back to the underworld to account for my presence. It had produced a feeling I wasn't eager to feel again anytime soon: a feeling of inferiority, as if I should immediately obey every word even to death. It was not a feeling I liked.

I walked out to the campfire. Most of the camp was still enjoying the last lights of the campfire, but I noticed two silhouettes talking as if in whispers outside the arena. But by the time I arrived, the smaller one had returned to the campfire and I was able to recognize the second as my mother.

"Hi mom," I said. "Who was that?"

"No one," she said. "I have a special job for you tonight. Here," she said as she handed me a tattered and worn Yankees baseball cap.

"You're giving me this?" I asked in awe.

"No. Honestly, you're worse than your father sometimes. I'm letting you borrow it for tonight. I need you to take a couple friends and go after the Hunter's flag. I figured it could help you distract them."

"You want me to go after the flag? Who's going to defend ours," I asked.

"Oh, I've got a plan in mind. Now, here's what I want you to do," she said filling me in before returning to give some instructions to the rest of camp.

* * *

><p>An hour later I found myself in full Greek battle armor standing next to Airiana and Jayzon on the edge of the forest. I was silently thanking the gods that I had grown over the last year. Last summer I had positively swam in the armor and I was sure that I had looked absolutely ridiculous in it. I hadn't minded last summer. But this summer Airiana was here and I was very thankful that the armor fit now that I was twelve. I certainly looked much more daring now. The Ares cabin had offered their services to the Hunters, but they had declined rather rudely. Therefore, the Ares cabin was reluctantly lined up on our side of the creek scowling at the other campers. I thought that they weren't going to be much help. They might even hurt us.<p>

Annabeth and Thalia stood on the edge of the forest at the mouth of the creek. Chiron stood between them. Behind Annabeth the entire camp was lined up, over 150 campers all adorned in Greek battle armor and with powers which spanned all the gods save Artemis. Behind Thalia stood the Hunters, fifteen young girls who were standing relaxed and looking like they might be preparing for a picnic as much as a full scale battle like this. I thought we actually had good odds until I noticed her. "Hey Mom," I said, pointing to the auburn haired girl in front of the hunters. "She can't fight, that's not fair."

"We've discussed it," my mom said. "Considering the numbers, we decided it was fair as long as she played by the rules."

Airiana leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Are they all demigods?" she asked.

"Most of them. Some aren't. Thalia's predecessor was a Hesperide, one of the nymphs of the sunset. Then, of course, there is Artemis herself. She is definitely not a demigod."

Chiron stomped his hoof on a rock and everyone turned their attention to him. "All right," he said. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. All magic is allowed." He turned to Artemis and Kim Santos, daughter of Hecate. "The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"*

A large pile of Greek battle armor and a large assortment of weapons appeared scattered around the field just outside of the forest. The campers scampered around getting what they could and fighting the other campers for the best weapons. The Hunters just stood and watched the fiasco seeming to be quite amused by it. I quickly went and found a set of armor for Airiana. Jayzon and I already had ours.

Once everyone was set Chiron started the game. I tried to steer my friends toward the Hunters side of the forest, but Jayzon had other ideas. Apparently my mother had not gotten to him yet, or she just didn't think he was important enough to involve in the plan. Jayzon shot out toward the back of the forest, toward our flag. I looked back. I could go for the flag now, but I thought I would need to have at least three people to get the flag back across the creek. I knew I was losing time but I felt like I had no choice. I took off after Jayzon.

The forest was always dark and creepy. Part of the reason for this was that it was enchanted to be that way. The other reason for it was that the forest was where the camp held its monsters for "training." The forest is shielded from all outside noise at its thinnest parts and I had run straight into some of the thickest foliage in camp. I took out my sword and shield and I saw Airiana do the same.

We passed through the forest without running into anything which I thought was rather strange. There were almost two hundred people in here and several monsters. Surely we should be running into one of them. Just when I thought we might have fallen into some kind of trap we exited the trees and came out into a large clearing (well large for the forest). In the middle of the clearing sat a tall pile of stones which I immediately recognized as Zeus's Fist. On the top of the boulders stood our flag.

At least that's what I was assuming. The top of Zeus's Fist was a common place for campers to place their flag. It was prominently displayed and since it was so high up it didn't require very many guardians. And sure enough, today there was a large banner proudly displaying the owl of Athena sitting at the very top of the pile. But it wasn't alone. On every ledge of Zeus's Fist was another flag: one with the trident of Poseidon, one with the helm of Hades, one with the lightning bolt of Zeus, etc. Including the ring of flags circling the base of the rocks there was a flag for every cabin at camp. _Genius_, I thought, reminding myself to complement my mother later.

Frozen in place a few feet in front of us, his bow hanging at his side and a quiver full of arrows slung on his back, stood Jayzon. He was looking at the rocks as if it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. I ran around him and pinched him in the arm.

"Hey!" he shouted. "You could have been nicer than that."

"What are you doing?" I asked him. "You didn't even wait for the plan."

"What are you doing?" a woman asked behind me. I turned around. She was taller than me and was extremely beautiful. Her long hair was tucked behind her ear in a pony tail and her light gray eyes were storming. Ok, the storming eyes weren't as beautiful as they normally were. I recognized her of course, Abigail Allen, daughter of Athena.

"What are you doing?" she asked again, closer to a whisper this time. "You should be following the plan!"

"I needed more help," I said.

She looked at me in disbelief, grabbed Jayzon by the arm and pushed him toward me. "There," she said. "Help. Now get going!"

I didn't need telling twice. I led Jayzon and Airiana across the creek and into enemy territory. I expected a few Hunters to be prowling the grounds rounding up campers who dared to go after the flag. Instead there seemed to be all of the half-bloods at camp fighting against the wild. There was every kind of animal imaginable, deer, elk, lions, wolverines and everything in between. Each was in a duel with a demigod and in most cases the animals were winning. I looked around the clearing making out what I could and finally spotted one girl in the back almost at the tree line. It was Artemis herself and the animals seemed to be morphing from her dress and charging the line. I motioned for us to head for the cover of the trees.

I genuinely thought we had a chance now. Artemis was distracted by the creek and since she was behind with all her animal minions I was willing to bet most of the actual Hunters were playing offense. If we stuck to the trees maybe we could get behind the goddess and back without being seen. I tucked my mother's invisibility cap further into my pocket. It seemed to disappear in the pocket, almost like it knew what I was planning.

We trudged further into the woods, being extremely careful not to make any noise. Jayzon and I put our shields away. I knew that Jayzon would be good at this, but since it was Airiana's first time in the woods I was a bit worried if we actually came upon a monster. Then again, she handled that manticore pretty well back at her school.

A twig snapped to our right and we all froze. I raised _Sabertooth_ in the direction of the noise, the moonlight barely enough to see the tree next to us. Airiana added _Goliath's_ glow to mine and we began to just be able to make out movement beyond the tree.

An arrow shot out from the darkness but the tree next to me bent down its branch and caught the arrow out of thin air. The arrow was a long, traditional shaft but instead of an arrowhead there was a large, red boxing mitt. It was suspended in mid air by the tree and pointing straight at my chest. I turned to Airiana with an unasked question on my face. Or at least I hoped that's what was on my face.

She seemed to understand. "I asked the trees to protect us," she said. "They are very good at it, but they cannot protect us from everything."

I nodded and we began to move again. We got about ten feet before everything went wrong. First we noticed a bright elk cross the path in front of us. Then an otter scurried through the trees behind us. We turned to watch the otter. When we turned back in front of us there was a zebra standing directly in front of us standing and blocking our path. We turned around and almost ran into the elk from earlier, who was now blocking us from behind. The woods around us seemed to melt into every kind of wild animal you can think of, pushing in on us from all sides. We were surrounded.

"So, what now, o fearless leader?" Airiana asked.

"I'm out of plans. Any ideas?" I asked.

"Yes," a voice said from behind the animals. The zebra and a tiger bowed respectfully and let a girl with auburn hair into the circle. "You surrender peacefully," the girl said.

"I don't like that plan," Jayzon said.

"She's right. We can't win here," I said.

"Then I'll take your weapons," Artemis said. "Bind them."

Ropes appeared out of nowhere and a chimpanzee grabbed them and bound our hands together. Artemis reduced our weapons back to toothpick, ring and backpack form (Jayzon has a really awesome backpack which becomes his bow and quiver full of arrows). The chimp and tiger led us away while Artemis led the other animals back into the woods to fight other demigods.

After about five minutes of walking we arrived at a tiny clearing. Our hands were untied and we were tied up to the same large tree at the far side from the creek. I don't know how I knew that, we couldn't see the creek, but I guess that was just a demigod thing. In the center of the clearing sat the Hunter's banner, complete with a picture of a full moon just escaping the clouds and a bow and arrow around it. Two Hunters were guarding the flag, not paying us any attention.

I moved my leg. The cap was still there just like it was supposed to be. They had patted us for weapons and taken our shields and other tricks (Jayzon had a knife in his shoe) but they hadn't gotten the cap.

"Airiana," I said quietly. She acknowledged. "In my pocket is a baseball cap. Get it and put it on when we're free. Jayzon and I will need your protection when we take the flag."

"Ok, but um I'm noticing a slight problem," she said. I ignored her.

"Jayzon. Science lesson time. Did you know that moonlight is just the sun's rays reflected off the lunar surface?" I said.

"Dude, I get where you're going on this but I don't think there's enough light," he said.

"Try," I said.

"Still noticing a problem," Airiana said.

"What's that?" I asked, a little perturbed.

"Well, there are two Hunters guarding the flag and then we have to get past a bunch of crazy animals and a goddess. And we don't have our weapons."

I sighed. "They are Hunters, they need their weapons. We are demigods. We can never be disarmed."

"Ugh, fine," she said. "But if I get killed I'm haunting you for all eternity."

I smiled. "I'll hold you too that."

She reached into my pocket with an extra forceful punch and retrieved the cap and placing it behind her back. Meanwhile I began to feel heat to my left.

Jayzon was a son of Apollo, the sun god. That meant that, to an extent, he could bend the sun's light to his will. One of the benefits of that was that he could focus the sun's rays into a center point and fry something like a kid with a magnifying glass. And although the moon's light was still sun light, it wasn't anywhere close to as powerful.

"It's not working Alex," Jayzon said. "I can't seem to grip the moonlight."

"Ok, time to improvise then," I said. "Any ideas?"

The Hunters seemed to have noticed that something was going on. They were looking at us funny and one of them seemed to notice that Airiana was hiding something. I began to look around for something to distract them.

Wait. Distract them. If I had the power to stop my parents from arguing, then maybe...

I felt a tug at my gut and took a deep breath. "Stop touching me," I said. But the voice wasn't mine; it was higher, like a girl's voice.

The Hunter on the right rolled her eyes and turned to the one on the left. "I am not touching you Gabriella," she said.

"I didn't say anything of the sort Susan!" Gabriella retorted.

"You just did," Susan said, completely ignoring us.

"Did not," Gabriella said.

"Yes you did. You said "_Stop touching me! _I'd recognize that voice anywhere."

"Did not. Don't lie like that!"

"I'm telling Lady Artemis," Susan said.

"Oh yeah, well you'll just get in trouble," Gabriella said.

"Nuh uh, " Susan said. "She'll trust my word over yours; she likes me better."

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Oh yeah, prove it," Gabriella said.

"Fine."

"Fine."

The two Hunters left the clearing and ran off to find Artemis.

"All right, do it now," Airiana said.

A girl, about seventeen by the look of her, appeared between Jayzon and I and stepped into the clearing. "So nice to be rid of them. Those Hunters are sooooo boring." The wood nymph reached down and pulled Jayzon's knife out of the ground where the Hunters had dropped it and cut lose our rope. She handed the knife to Airiana who handed it back to Jayzon. "Thank you, my lady," she said.

"No, thank you," Airiana replied. "You did all the work." The nymph smiled and melted back into her tree. "That was cool," Airiana said. "Good going your majesty."

"You too, Flower Power," I said. Airiana punched me.

"Um, I'd hate to break up this love fest, but shouldn't we be going?" Jayzon asked. He was right. I ran and grabbed the flag, Jayzon taking up guard on my right. Airiana disappeared under the cap. "This way," Jayzon said, pointing toward the creek. We all took off (at least I hoped Airiana was following).

The first beast we ran into was the zebra from earlier, but this time we were ready. The zebra started to charge, but the grass at its feet grew and entangled its feet, causing it to trip. Jayzon wasted no time cutting the beast on the back. It disintegrated at the touch of Celestial Bronze. Not like a monster disintegrated, more like it melted into moonlight.

"They're apparitions," I said. "Not alive."

"Which means we can kill them right?" Jayzon asked. I nodded and kept running.

We came out of the trees and into the largest clearing in the forest. The creek ran across this field with about forty yards of grass on either side. Just as Jayzon and I (and I hoped Airiana) emerged from the trees, Thalia emerged from the other side carrying a banner with a large gray owl on it.

I knew we had lost. I was a fast runner, having grown up racing the campers around every summer. I might even have been the fastest at camp, besides the Hermes campers. But I knew I would not win a race with a Huntress. I hoped my mother had a plan for this.

As if on cue, the tree line to my left shimmered and three figures emerged hand in hand. Two I recognized immediately as Shane Collins and my father, the two most experienced and powerful children of Poseidon still alive. The figure in the middle was a middle aged man with deep, dark eyes and pure black hair. He wore a black leather jacket over a black undershirt and black cargo jeans with chains stretching from pocket to pocket. It was the only person I knew that wore more black than Thalia: Nico di Angelo, son of Hades.

Shane and Percy let go of Nico and ran for the creek while another figure joined Nico. He was a buff teenager who would have fit in on the Ohio State offensive line. He also had deep dark eyes and pure black hair, but he often wore a lighter shade of black, if that made sense. Sometimes he got bold and wore dark blue. It was Nico's younger brother, Christopher Nash.

Nico pulled out his sword and Christopher joined his hand to Nico's as they stretched the sword out in front of them. The earth trembled and a crack appeared along their side of the creek, growing wider and wider until there was a ten yard gap in the ground right in front of Thalia.

Thalia never seemed to panic. She looked up and yelled "My lady!" before sticking the flag in her mouth. Artemis waved her hand and Thalia morphed into a golden doe without breaking stride and she leaped over the chasm with ease.

_Uh oh_, I thought. It was bad enough to face a Hunter but to race a Hunter who was now a deer? Even though I was already half way across the field, I really didn't stand a chance.

But my mother had another plan up her sleeve. Percy and Shane had positioned themselves at the far end of the creek and were starring at each other. They both raised their hands and motioned toward me. The creek obeyed and began to bubble and move toward me, bending like a bow. But try as they might they couldn't get the creek to move very fast.

Artemis's dress waved in the wind and a lion appeared and stormed toward me.

"Oh no you don't," I heard Airiana say beside me. Suddenly the ground opened and shut like a mouth beneath the lion swallowing it up and shutting just as the creek began to slowly flow over the spot. I was inches away now. I jumped to get across.

Thalia was still faster. She landed next to me just as I pushed off and landed across the creek myself. Immediately Artemis turned her back into the Hunter form and she set down the flag. I set mine down too as Airiana appeared next to me. Jayzon was still wading through the creek.

"Nice trick," Thalia said to my mother who was coming out of the woods smiling. "Too bad it didn't work. You're a demigod and when forced to choose a true demigod will always choose their own parent. It was easy enough to find the right flag."

"Look again," Chiron said, cantering into the field. I looked. Thalia's flag was still gray with a beautiful owl right in the middle. Meanwhile, my flag had turned a bright golden color with a diadem square in the middle. It was fluttering despite a lack of wind.

"But," Thalia started.

"You're so predictable Thalia," Annabeth said. "You are correct of course; any true demigod will choose their parent. However, I didn't place the flag."

"Who did?" she asked.

"I did," said a shy girl standing near the trees. She stepped forward now carrying a flag with the symbol of Hecate on it. It was Kim Santos, daughter of Hecate. "And I chose my mother. THIS is the true flag."

"That's illegal," Thalia said to Chiron.

"All magic was allowed. The flag was prominently displayed and had only one guardian. Annabeth broke no rules. The campers win. Please return all weapons to their proper owners."

A loud cheer from the campers met this statement as Artemis graciously handed us back our weapons before moving onto the other demigods. Apparently she had disarmed several of us during the game.

I joined in with the campers in the loud celebration but just as I was congratulating Airiana on taking care of the lion I heard it. It started off like a low rumble, but it quickly got louder like it was approaching. The camp got silent. I turned around and saw a giant hellhound, about the size of an elephant standing over Nico's chasm.

The beast pounced before I knew it and flew straight at Airiana. I reacted with instincts I didn't know I had and tackled her getting her out of the way. I felt the beast land behind me as I rolled to a landing and sprang up with my toothpick in hand. The hellhound had landed right where Airiana was standing and had flipped my mother, who was standing behind her, up onto its back. It turned and leaped for the nearest shadow.

I knew I didn't have time to charge the beast with my sword so I did the only thing that came natural: I threw a toothpick at an elephant sized hellhound. As I did I could hear the twang of several bows firing from the Hunters.

I knew the toothpick wouldn't do much but even I was disappointed when it seemed to hover in the air just out of my hand. No, it wasn't hovering. It was extending. It grew longer and longer and longer. When it finally seemed to move again it had become a four foot long javelin that looked like it would do some serious damage to the hellhound. Just as the javelin got to the beast, it seemed to shimmer and vanished. The javelin just impacted loudly into a tree, followed by about thirty arrows. My mother was gone.

*Chiron's speech is from _The Lightning Thief,_ page 118


	6. Thalia Gets a Quest

A giant thaks to everyone who has added this story and to gumibear for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Glee or the Jonas Brothers. However, I know several girls who wish they did.

Chapter 6: Thalia Gets a Quest

The next few hours were a blur to me. My mind sort of turned off and couldn't perceive anything but the fact that mom was gone, but I think I figured out what happened pretty well.

Thalia charged the tree and punched it, but it was no good. Dad pleaded with Nico for help, but after a short argument, Nico convinced him that he couldn't follow something through the shadows or figure out where the hound had taken her. He assured Dad that Annabeth was still alive. That seemed to calm my dad down.

Airiana tried to wake me up from my trance and, once she finally succeeded, she began a long process of consoling me. Jayzon appeared at some point after retrieving _Sabertooth_ from the tree.

Finally, Chiron gained control of the situation and called a camp counselor meeting at the Big House. Being a counselor, I soon found myself sitting around the ping pong table with every other counselor including Thalia. It was the first time I had been allowed in on these meetings. Like a lot of things in my life, it was something that I had always wanted to do or have happen that went completely wrong. I was beginning to wonder if the fates had it in for me.

"Artemis has agreed to allow me to go and rescue my friend. I am going," Thalia demanded.

"She's my wife," Dad said. "I'm going too."

"I do not need you," Thalia responded.

"I'm not staying behind!" my dad replied.

"ENOUGH!" Chiron said loud enough to quiet the argument. "Thalia, of course you are going. Artemis requested it directly and I will not deny a god. Percy, I know it's your wife and all but please listen to reason. Remember your fatal flaw Percy. You will do anything to save someone you love."

"I don't care about my fatal flaw," Dad started.

"Percy please hear me out," Chiron continued. "You're over thirty-five years old. You're reactions aren't what they once were. You tire faster. You notice less. You've said so yourself."

"So?" Dad asked.

"Monsters don't know mercy," Chiron said. "They will tear you to shreds without a second thought. It's your fatal flaw asking you to go on this quest. If you do, you'll die."

Percy sat in silence, finally accepting Chiron's argument.

"I can still go," I said.

"That will be for Thalia to decide," Chiron said. "I agree that she should go on this quest. And given her experience, I think she should lead the quest."

"I will do that," Thalia said.

"Very well. Then I ask that you agree to take only campers with you. I am aware that Hunters would be faster. But Annabeth is a leader of this camp and I feel that the camp needs to save her," Chiron said.

"Annabeth would want it that way," Thalia said.

"Very well. Who will go with you?" Chiron said.

Thalia looked at me with sad eyes. "Annabeth was taken by a hellhound. Most of those are restricted to the underworld. It is likely that whatever took Annabeth took the hound from there. I will start there. If we don't find Annabeth, we should at least find a clue. As such, I think I should take a child of Hades. Christopher Nash, will you join me on my quest?"

"I would be honored," Christopher said.

"And of course, I should take," Thalia started.

"Hang on," Christopher interrupted. "I may have knowledge of the underworld but my father will not let you out just because I am there. You will need an escape plan."

"And you have a suggestion?" Chiron asked.

"Lily Harper is the best escape artist since Houdini. I would suggest taking her," Christopher said.

Thalia thought about this but finally agreed to it.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "What about me?"

"The quest is set," Chiron said over my protests. "Thalia, go and consult the oracle. She is usually watching Glee in the living room right about now."

* * *

><p>I sat in stunned silence the entire time that Thalia was gone. My father and Airiana (after all, Persephone gets a cabin too, eventually) tried to convince me that a very strong quest had been sent to rescue my mother. I didn't want to hear that though. My mother was in danger and I had been told to stay and fight scarecrows. I thought I was a real demigod now. I thought I was finally worth something.<p>

Thalia returned and Chiron asked her to recite her prophecy. She cleared her throat.

_How dare you interrupt Glee..._

_Oh, right a prophecy._

_Three shall go to the land of the dead_

_Three shall go on in a hero's 'stead_

_One shall succeed where others have failed_

_Their true nature finally unveiled_

_Heroes head west with goals mistaken_

_And fail to get back what was taken_

Thalia finished reciting the prophecy and sat down. "I think we should leave tonight," she said. "Night is when I am strongest and I think that goes for Christopher as well. We leave whenever you are ready." Christopher acknowledged with a nod but Chiron interrupted.

"I appreciate your desire to get going, but I am concerned about the prophecy," he said. "Three shall go is mentioned twice. Are you sure we have all the people who are supposed to be going?"

"No," Thalia said. "But it could just be another double meaning. Besides, I don't think it is a bad thing to ignore this prophecy. After all, if we go by the books we will _fail to get back what was taken._ I don't like the sound of that."

"Fine," Chiron said. "But I will warn you that it is never good to try to manipulate prophecies. You may leave as soon as you are ready. Meeting dismissed."

* * *

><p>I tried to sleep that night, but instead I just lay there on my bed staring at the ceiling and thinking of the fact that I wasn't going on the quest. I wasn't a real demigod apparently. In the few minutes that I did get to sleep my mind kept going back to the forest, going back to the capture. My dreams didn't last very long.<p>

I got up and looked out our back window. I could see the beach sprawling out a little bit behind the cabin. The waves rolled in and they rolled out like they always did. But they seemed quieter than normal, almost like Poseidon was morning for his daughter-in-law. Or maybe for his son.

Percy. The great Percy Jackson. He didn't have any experience before _he_ got to lead a quest to the underworld to save _his_ mother. He even got to lead the much more experienced Annabeth Chase. It wasn't Annabeth leading him, he got to lead. But at least she got to go. The great son of Hera, stuck picking weeds in the strawberry patch.

I couldn't look at the beach any longer so I stared at the stars. I could make out Cancer rolling across the sky. Just off to its left I saw a group of bright stars making their way across the sky. A Huntress: Zoe Nightshade. She had led a quest foam this camp just like her successor Thalia was about to do. Percy had been kept from that quest but he had left camp anyway. He had defied the old laws. He had left without a quest. What was stopping me from doing that now?

I left the window and grabbed one of my old suitcases. As quietly as I could I began packing the necessary equipment for a quest. It wasn't really that hard to do quietly. A long time ago I had placed all the things I thought I would need in one spot: waterless toothpaste, a bit of spare food, some deodorant, plenty of water bottles, some golden drachmas, a couple weeks mortal allowance, some ambrosia, a few toothpicks. I removed those for fear of confusing them with _Sabertooth_. I'm not sure why I thought I would need them anyway.

Once everything was packed I tiptoed past my parent's bedroom and gingerly walked down the steps to the living room. I didn't waste any time looking around or looking back. I wanted to get out before Chiron woke up. I reached the front door and placed my hand on the handle.

"Going somewhere?" my Dad asked. I turned around and saw him lounging on the couch and looking straight at me.

"You seem rather relaxed for someone whose wife was kidnapped by a hellhound," I said rather rudely.

"Actually I was waiting for you," he said getting up. "Waiting almost three hours now. I was starting to think you weren't coming."

"Why?" I asked. "How did you even know I would come?"

"You're my son," he said as if it made perfect sense. "Drop the duffle and take a walk with me." I did as told.

We walked along the beach and sat down behind one of the dunes, the sea stretching out before us. "I know what you're going to say," I said. "Just say it."

"Do you know what I'm going to say?" Dad asked.

"You're going to tell me not to go after mom," I said.

"This may come as a shock to you, but I was once a child like you," Dad said.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically. "You mean you weren't always old and decrepit?"

"Ha, ha son. Yes, I wasn't always old," Dad said. "I was once your age and back then, my mother was also taken prisoner to the underworld."

"I know dad, I read your story."

"Yes, yes. I always forget you read that," he said. "But I remember how I felt then. I remember how I would have done anything to get my mother back from Hades. I know how you feel son. I know that telling you not to go would be pointless, but I'm asking you to take a moment to think before you go. Remember, this is Hades we're talking about. He's not likely to let you just parade out of the underworld with your mother, if she's there. Thalia came up with a plan to get in AND get out. You'll need that too before you enter the underworld. And you'll need help. I was barely able to do it with Grover and Annabeth. You don't have the powers I have."

"I'm not powerless anymore dad, I'm not weak!"

"I'm not suggesting that you are," Dad said quickly. "I've felt your powers, and honestly they scare me more than a kid of Zeus's. A lightning bolt, or even the sea, is something you can see, something you can fight, or at least dodge. But your powers remind me of Mr. D's kids. You screw with emotions, you screw with the mind. There's no defense for that and it scares me. But will it work against a god? Can you affect an entire army of undead soldiers who have no emotions? Think about it Alex, are your powers going to matter in the underworld?"

I sat silently and twiddled my thumbs. He was right of course, and if I had been in my right mind I would have realized it immediately. Of course, I wasn't in my right mind. It took several minutes of trying and failing to come up with a counterargument before I finally admitted defeat.

"I can still go though right?" I asked sheepishly.

"I don't want to lose you but I won't stop you if you want to. I just want you to take some people with you, preferably Airiana. Persephone's kid will have some pull down there."

"Dad," I said.

"Yes?" he said.

"I'm scared. Is that ok?" I asked sheepishly.

Dad wrapped his hand around my shoulders and pulled me close. "I was always scared, son. It means you're human."

I pushed into Dad's hug and began to cry quietly. He didn't let go.

"Dad," I said after about ten minutes.

"Yes," he said.

"I love you."

"I love you too, son."

About an hour later I had finally regained my composure and beat dad in a splash war. Of course "beat" is relative. I got him to beg for mercy and stuff but I was the only one soaked on our way back up to the cabins. Stupid son of Poseidon.

When we reached the cabins I looked over and saw Airiana deep in conversation with Artemis on the porch of cabin eight. I froze fearing the worst but Artemis looked over and smiled at me. _Come, hero_ I heard her say. I turned toward Dad who looked from Artemis to me.

"Did she call you too?" he asked. I nodded. "Well then go. It's not wise to ignore a goddess. Tell her I'll be over in a bit, I need to grab something first."

I walked over and stood just off the porch of cabin eight. Artemis didn't let me come up. I guess there were some lines she just wouldn't let boys cross, but she was talking to me, that was progress. The first step is to admit you have a problem...

"Yes, Lady Artemis," I said.

"You looked pathetic over there; I just wanted to ease your mind. She hasn't joined me yet," Artemis said.

"Yet?" I asked.

Airiana looked down. "She's offered to have me join the Hunters," she said. I said nothing. "I haven't made a decision yet though."

"There is no rush," Artemis said as my dad walked up to the cabin.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, bowing to Artemis. "I wanted to get something." He handed a set of Greek battle armor to Airiana. "It might be a little big but I hope it will work for you."

"Thanks!" Airiana said, taking the armor.

"Really dad," I said. "You love that armor!"

"I do," he said, "but apparently I'm too old to go on quests now. I want someone to use it. Airiana uses a long sword; this will free her to use it properly. Go ahead, try it on."

Airiana put on the breastplate. At first nothing happened but soon the armor began to shimmer and then it disappeared, leaving nothing but the _Jonas Brothers_ shirt she was wearing. "What happened?" she asked. "I don't even feel it anymore."

I took out _Sabertooth_ and brought it to sword mode. "Stand still," I said. I swung the sword at her chest. It made contact with her shirt and bounced back like it had hit titanium.

"What the…?" she said.

"The shield is magic, a gift from my father, made by my brother," Dad said. "It magically morphs into whatever clothing you're wearing. It's very lightweight but it will stop a bullet fired at point blank range. And if you want to take it off all you have to do is think about taking it off and it will appear for you. Try it."

Airiana's face went into deep concentration and the breastplate appeared again. She took it off. "Sweet," she said.

"Take it, it's yours," Dad said. "You'll need it if you keep using that long sword. It will take the place of a shield."

"Now about that trip you're planning," Artemis said to me. I attempted to look innocent but then I remembered I was talking to a god.

"Yes ma'am?" I said.

"I want you to know, I have complete faith in Thalia," she said.

"I do too ma'am," I said. That was true. "I don't know Christopher or Lily though and with them on the quest I just can't take the chance. This is my mother after all."

Artemis smiled. "Your family is restoring my faith in men. Slowly. But if you're going to leave you'll need to do it in the morning. Chiron will be too distracted to notice you walking out then. My cousin will notice of course, but I don't think he will stop you. Harass you maybe, but he won't stop you. He gets too much pleasure from watching heroes flail and fail on their quests."

"Thank you lady Artemis for the advice," I said.

"Wait," Airiana said. "What is this about leaving? You can't just leave me here, I just got here."

"I didn't say anything about leaving you," I said. "I just hadn't gotten a chance to ask you if you wanted to come yet. So, um, do you?"

"I'm not going to let you get yourself killed out there," she said. "I guess I gotta come then. Take Jayzon too, he seems to like you."

"Then it is settled," Dad said.

"I'll ask Jayzon in the morning," I said. "He's not very lively at night being Apollo's kid and all. If he agrees then we're set."

"Then I suggest getting to sleep," Dad said. "You'll have a long day tomorrow."


	7. I Take the Taxi Ride from Hades

A/N: Many thanks continue to be expressed to my wonderful wife who puts up with my fanfiction addiction.

Disclaimer: I still do not own PJO. I also do not own NCIS or, just to be safe, Grand Central Station. I do however; own a wonderful book for school which I will need to return to reading. Ugh.

Chapter 7: I Take the Taxi Ride from Hades

I awoke around eight the next morning not feeling very refreshed. I had managed to get some sleep, and dreamless sleep at that, but it wasn't enough. Still, I dragged myself out of bed and up to the pavilion for breakfast.

The pavilion was packed full of campers and Hunters. I could see Chiron and Mr. D. in serious conversation at the head table. I spotted Jayzon at the Apollo table and my father enjoying breakfast at the Hera table. Sitting next to him was Airiana.

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?" I asked as I joined them.

"Where?" she asked. "Persephone doesn't have a table yet."

"Oh, right," I said. I enjoyed my breakfast burritos but didn't enjoy it when my dad dumped out my Mountain Dew right after I filled my cup. He said something about it not being healthy and made me refill the cup with milk. Yuk.

After breakfast I made a quick dash to the basketball court where some campers were already picking teams. "I pick Alex," Jayzon said before I even got on the concrete. "Whaz up?" he said when I arrived at his team.

"Star point guard reporting for duty," I said. The game was going to be a pretty fair fight, judging by the players. We had three Apollo campers so if we could keep on our feet, we would probably win. But the other side was captained by Jeff Davis and he had his brother Jim over there too so staying on our feet would be harder than it sounded. No one called fouls on them.

We won the coin toss and started with the ball. Jay quickly got the ball in my hands. It was relatively easy to make Jeff miss on his tackle but I knew that Jim would be smarter. He wouldn't be fooled so easily. I drove to his left and passed to Richard Lee who, being a son of Apollo, drained the open three. I got laid out on the play but the joke was on Jim, we had scored.

Their possessions were pretty quick, usually involving one of the Ares boys taking the ball, driving straight at the basket and bowling over anyone who dared stand in their way, occasionally even trying to call a foul on us if we did. It was rare for us to even try though considering that they had the unusual ability to miss dunks on a regular basis.

Our possessions all started with me holding the ball. The Ares boys were smarter than they looked and they had Abigail Allen on their team too, so I didn't always get my pass completed. But when I did find one of our Apollo campers, they didn't miss. After about an hour, it was clear we were going to win and most of Team Davis quit. Finally the Davis Brothers called it quits.

Jayzon and I walked back toward the Big House for water. I made a quick survey and found that Chiron was teaching at the moment. Excellent. "Hey Jayzon, can I ask you something?" I said as soon as we got in the Big House.

"Shoot," he said.

"Let's say I was hypothetically planning a trip from camp. Would you be willing to come with me?"

"Would this hypothetical trip involve saving your mother from the underworld?" he asked, smiling.

"Ummmm, yes," I said.

"Man, you don't have a quest," he said. "Leaving camp without one is not good."

"I know, but we can leave when Chiron is distracted. We can't pull anything over on Mr. D., being a god and all, but I think he'll let us go. Eventually."

"You got a third?" he asked.

"Airiana," I said. "She might be of some help in the Underworld."

"Might?" Jayzon asked. "She's a child of Persephone. She'll have as much pull as Nico."

"But it's summer. Persephone isn't there. I don't know how that will affect things," I said.

"When we leaving'?" he asked.

* * *

><p>After lunch, the three of us stood next to Thalia's tree. My father was making a distraction to ensure that we got out without Chiron's interference. Mr. D. was another matter though and we found him standing at the bottom of the hill with a smile on his face. That can't be good.<p>

"Well, look what we have here," he said. "Three young campers out for a stroll out of bounds."

"Please, Mr. D." I said. "We're going to save my mom."

"You know, heroes can be quite predictable sometimes," he said. "I hate heroes you know, always bossing us gods around, thinking they own the place. Well, you don't. Look at you here, taking the word of darling little Artemis and thinking I would let you leave. Do you know how much of a pounding I took from father for letting Peter Johnson leave? A lot! I'm not going to take another for you Winston Johnson."

"It's Alex," I said before I could stop myself.

Mr. D's smile seemed to grow wider. "Alex is it? You know, this country seems to think that names are just letters in an order for a child to memorize in order to get into Kindergarten. Back in the day, they knew better. Names are powerful things Mr. Jackson. They describe you. There will always be outliers of course, but how many dumb Solomon's do you know? Or David's with no street smarts? Or Jason's without some ability to fight? Names not only describe the person, the person conforms to the name.

"Now, take you for example. Your parents named you after two heroes. Winston Churchill defended against the world, used war as a last resort and sought constantly after peace. Alexander of Macedonia attacked the world, used war as his only resort and sought constantly after blood. Be careful which name you pick Mr. Jackson, the choice will decide your destiny."

"That's great," I said. "Can we go now?"

"No."

"Please Mr. D. I have to!"

"Silence!" he said. "Now, there might be a way you could convince me. You see, I desperately want to get out of this wretched camp. So, I might be willing to let you leave if you give a few offerings to Zeus with a good word for me."

"How many is 'a few'?" I asked.

"Good question. How about ten each."

"Done," I said. "Can we go now?"

Mr. D. smiled and picked a flower from the side of the path. "Swear to it," he said.

I sighed. We were losing time and Dad's distraction wouldn't last long. "I swear on the River Styx that I will do your sacrifice prayer thingy." Thunder rolled across the sky. "There, can we go?"

"You can, they can't," he said.

"What! Why?" Jayzon said.

"He was the only one to make the oath," Mr. D. said, making the bush grow more flowers and then picking them. My friends repeated the oath, making thunder roll again while Mr. D. made the flowers into a bouquet. "Ah, much better," he said. "I think Ariadne will love these. You and your friends may go Mr. Johnson. But know this: Hera is not the most liked of the Olympians. If you thought your father had it bad from the gods, he knew nothing. Most will stop at nothing to make your life miserable unless you convince them otherwise. I've been able to protect you whilst you're in camp but my powers end here. Just be warned." Suddenly Mr. D. began to glow and I yelled "close your eyes!" just as he showed his true immortal form and vanished in a brilliant flash of light. I looked up and saw that Airiana and Jayzon had managed to get their eyes shut in time. Mr. D. was nowhere to be found.

"So, what now?" Airiana asked.

"We leave," I said. I took out a drachma and threw it down on the dirt road. "_Stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês_**.**" The drachma disappeared in the ground.

"Stop, Chariot of Damnation?" Airiana asked. "Why am I not excited about this plan?"

"Shut up," I said jokingly.

The ground where the drachma had disappeared began to change. It turned dark brown and then turned blood red. It began boiling, shifting and smoking, the smoke slowly solidifying into the shape of a New York Taxi right there at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill. The back door popped open. Jayzon and I were able to steer Airiana inside quickly and then we were off.

"Where to dears?" the driver said. No, there were three drivers, all old and ugly with stringy hair and sackcloth dresses which looked like they hadn't been washed in 3000 years. It was the middle one who spoke.

"Grand Central Station," I said. Jayzon looked at me with an unasked question in his eye, as if to say _Three Sister's Cab, you sure?_ but I wasn't going to answer it.

The cab went nowhere. "Go, Anger" the driver on the right said.

"He didn't say please, Tempest," Anger replied.

"Ugh, please," I said. Anger floored it.

"Watch out!" the middle sister said. "You almost ran over a motorcycle!"

"Well, I wouldn't if I could see, Wasp," Anger said as a prerecorded voice rang out across the cab: _Hey, this is Hermes telling you to buckle up for safety!_ I looked down and saw a black chain across the seat. I didn't think that would help much.

"We've been over this, turn here," Wasp replied. The cab jerked to the right so hard that we all squished against the door. I was pretty sure that I was becoming a permanent addition to the door, especially since Airiana was wearing her armor and it wasn't the kind to give when pushed. Finally, the taxi pulled out of the turn and sent Airiana and Jayzon flying back across the cab. I regained my breath as Wasp explained that Anger couldn't get both the tooth and the eye.

"Um, shouldn't the driver have the eye?" Jayzon asked.

"Wait, _the_ eye?" Airiana said. I explained that the Gray Sisters had one eye and one tooth and they seemed to do nothing but fight over them.

"We don't just fight over the eye," Wasp said. "Turn left. We do much more, transporting heroes, scaring the mortals, collecting knowledge. All in time to catch _NCIS_ every week!"

We were on the freeway now, swerving in and out of traffic like an old granny. Then I remembered they were an old granny. An old granny without an eye.

"Brake! Swerve! Accelerate! Left!" Wasp shouted. "That was your exit!"

Anger slammed on the brake causing the cab to stop in the middle of the interstate. She flipped it in reverse and put the pedal to the...smoke.

"Are you crazy?" I asked after getting my face out of the front seat.

"Of course," Tempest said.

"We're going to die," Airiana said.

"We've never had a hero die in this cab," Wasp said.

"That's not true," Anger said. "There was that boy in 1773…"

"We didn't have a cab then," Wasp said.

"…and that one back in 47 and the one in 136 and that girl in 974…

"Great," I said. "Any ideas?" I looked around, Airiana was turning green and Jayzon was looking at me like _Hey, you're the idea guy. _I rolled my eyes and looked back out the front of the cab just in time to see the Roosevelt Island fly by. Then I got an idea. I motioned to Jayzon, trying to tell him what I wanted him to do. After two minutes and a couple of nasty swerves later, each accompanied by griping between the sisters, Jayzon finished surveying the situation and slapped Wasp on the back of the head. The eye flew out of her head, off the dashboard, up to the windshield and off of it straight into Anger's lap.

"Ahhh!" the three yelled at the same time.

"Violence!"

"Stupid heroes!"

"Yea, The Eye!"

Anger's eye socket lit up as she popped the eye in and took a look around. "Yikes!" she said as she slammed on the brake and skidded to a halt outside Grand Central Station. "Destination reached," Tempest said as Jayzon and Airiana got out of the cab.

"Extra payment for violence!" Wasp said. I handed them two extra drachmas and got out myself. Airiana had thrown up and seemed to be feeling much better now. Jayzon had his arm around her in a comforting way which was doing nothing to make me feel good. I looked at the departures board, Jayzon and Airiana quickly did the same.

"So," he said. "Where we going and when?"

"No idea, hopefully they got the message," I said.

"Who got the message?" he asked.

"Us," an older couple said walking up to us. "It's so good to see you again Winston," the woman said, cupping my head in her hands.

"Grandma, I told you it's Alex!" I said.

"Remember what Mr. D. said," Jayzon whispered in my ear.

"Wait, grandma?" Airiana said. "Athena?"

"Ugh, I wish. No, I'm Percy's mom Sally. And we already have your tickets. Come we have two hours, just enough time to enjoy some food."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later we found ourselves each enjoying a large cup of blue ice cream, for my grandmother would buy no other color, and watching the passengers pass by talking on their cell phones or listening to their i-pods. Zeus himself could have been signing autographs and no one would notice.<p>

"Thanks for the ice cream Mrs. Jackson," Airiana said.

"Oh, it's not Mrs. Jackson, it's Mrs. Blofis," she said. "And you're welcome."

Jayzon spit out the water he had just drank. "Blowfish?"

"Close, drop the 'h' and you got it," the man said. "I'm Paul by the way."

It was Airiana's turn to spit her drink. "Wait, Paul Blofis? The Paul Blofis? Principal of Lexington High School in Chicago?"

"Just south of Chicago but yes," Paul said. "Do I know you?"

"Not yet. My father just enrolled me in your school yesterday. Seems getting kidnapped from my last school by this idiot got me expelled."

"Idiot?" I asked.

"Did you not just take that stupid cab?" she said.

"The Gray Sisters? Is that what that car was? I was wondering if they would still be around," Paul said. Sally smiled. She could see through the mist so she knew exactly what it was but Paul was still affected by the mist. It seemed to amuse her what he saw sometimes.

"What did you see," I asked out of curiosity.

"A jet black Ferrari" he said.

"Sweet," Jayzon said. "I'm liking those girls a whole lot more now."

"Well," Paul said turning back to Airiana, "if you're going to be attending my school, I suppose I'll be seeing a lot of you next year. Most of the demigods in my school seem to come to see me a lot."

"How many demigods are in your school?" she asked.

"Sixteen, well seventeen with the addition of you," he said.

"Doesn't the school get attacked?" Jayzon asked.

"Of course it does. But sixteen fully trained demigods is not an easy thing to attack. Plus, camp provides a couple of guards, usually Apollo kids. In fact I think I saw you once," he said, motioning to Jayzon who affirmed it with a nod. "We use the monster dust to fertilize the plants in our garden. It usually doesn't disrupt daily activities. I suppose you'll be missing orientation though, with this trip an all considering it's tomorrow. I'll have to catch you up later."

A clock struck three o'clock in the afternoon. "Well, that will be the bell. Here are your tickets, three to L.A. like you asked," Sally said handing a ticket to each of us. "I don't know why you're making such a long trip but do remember to enjoy the scenery. The Midwest is so beautiful in the summer." She leaned over and kissed my forehead.

"Grandma," I complained before we went our separate ways, grandma and grandpa to the train headed for Chicago, the three of us headed for L.A. Our tickets got us access to the diner car so that is where we headed first; we are growing kids after all. We sat down at a booth in the back of the car, Jayzon and Airiana on one side and me on the other, and quickly ordered a full three course meal each. I leaned back and made the first mistake (ok, maybe not the first) of the trip: I said, "All right, next stop Los Angeles."


	8. We Burn Through the Midwest

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or Jackie Chan's likeness or Coca-cola or Pepsi or Apple or Amazon or Dell or Elvis or Honda. Whew, I think that's everything for this chapter.**

**A/N: Thank you so much to Dani9513, gumibear8745, and The Winged Goddess of Freedom for your reviews. Sorry I didn't thank people last chapter.**

**gumibear, I certainly hope that the quest isn't too much like Percy's. It doesn't follow any one of his quests, but I hope it's not too close to the sum of them. He goes west a lot during the series and since this goes west it's difficult to avoid.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: We Burn Through the Midwest<p>

I hate demigod dreams. As soon as I fell asleep I found myself in the fields of Asphodel. They looked different this time though; I seemed to be closer to the bridges.

"Everything worked according to plan," a man said. I recognized it as the softer voice from my last trip here.

"Not everything. Another quest has left. They must be dealt with," the harsh, dark voice said.

"Of course," the first voice said. "Shall I?"

"No, keep to the plan."

"Where is the girl?" the first voice said.

"Hades found her quickly as expected," the first voice said, almost laughing. "He is keeping her though which helps us. Do your duty and we will have Olympus by the Winter Solstice."

"Yes, my King."

* * *

><p>I awoke with a start. I was still on the train, in the bunk car, heading west with the sun just creeping up behind us. Once my eyes got used to the light I was able to make out Jayzon in a bunk next to me. He looked over at me and smiled.<p>

"'Bout time sleepy head," he said.

"It's six," I said. "I should still be asleep. What are you doing up anyway?"

"I get up as soon as Dad gets in the sky," he said. "Sucks when you have a late night. What time did you get asleep?"

"About 12, you?"

"One," he said.

I stretched and began to strip and change.

"Um, Alex?" Jayzon started.

"Yeah?" I said. He pointed behind me. I turned and saw Airiana staring down from the bunk right over me. I quickly pulled my pants back up.

"By all means, keep going," she said smiling. I stuck my tongue out and proceeded to change in the bathroom.

Once we had all gotten up and dressed we marched through the train back to the dining car. There weren't very many people in the car yet, but I figured that would change soon. It was almost 7 after all. Jayzon and Airiana found a booth (thank goodness they sat opposite each other today) while I went and got a few donuts for breakfast. You'd think Camp Half-Blood would be able to afford to give their campers more money for quests. We were trying to save the world after all.

I returned with the donuts and slid in next to Airiana. Jayzon smiled at me but didn't say anything, which was probably good. Trips starting with a fist fight don't usually go well.

"Mind if I join you? The train seems to be full," a voice said next to me. I turned and saw a man standing next to the table smiling down at us. The man appeared athletic with slightly graying hair and a sly smile. His eyes twinkled. He was wearing what appeared to be a postal outfit for a company whose logo I didn't recognize. I didn't even try to read the name; letters seem to magically fly around in circles just to mess with my brain. I motioned for him to sit while I took out _Sabertooth _and began to pretend to pick donut out of my teeth. I noticed that Airiana began to fiddle with _Goliath _and Jayzon suddenly had an arrow next to him in the seat. I was glad the team got the message: take no chances.

The man didn't seem to notice the bronze items, even though the mist would only have affected Jayzon's. He just took a seat, pulled out his laptop and began to fiddle with the screen. The laptop was very cool. It appeared to be a PC and had a sky blue cover with a pair of wings in the middle of the back, where the apple would be on a Mac, and around those was a pair of small green snakes with eyes that appeared to follow me as I moved. I was just about to put _Sabertooth _down when Jayzon pulled his arrow and stuck it on the man's throat.

"What do you want monster?" Jayzon asked as politely as you can when pointing a deadly weapon at someone.

"Hey, don't kill the messenger," the man said. Suddenly I saw that the snakes didn't just appear to have moving eyes, they appeared to have moving everything and they were migrating toward Jayzon's side of the screen.

"Jayzon, put it down unless you want to be snake food," I said.

"He's got an email from a titan," Jayzon said.

"And a caduceus on his laptop," I said. "It's Hermes. He won't hurt us unless he wants to answer to our parents."

"You think I'm afraid of your mom, boy?" Hermes said as Jayzon put the arrow slowly away and Airiana and I put our weapons back.

_Hera is nice, she gives us rats,_ one of the snakes said, taking his attention off Jayzon.

"You must be George," I said.

_Guilty_, he said.

_Shut up!_ the other snake said.

"Let him go Martha, you know it doesn't make any difference," Hermes said.

"Wait, caduceus?" Airiana asked. "The thing with the snakes that Moses made?"

Hermes seemed amused. "Moses made one yes, healed the people in the desert with it. But mine is slightly different. Mine has two snakes, not one. And my snakes are alive, not bronze.

_Only alive if we get rats_ George said. Everyone ignored him.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"What, can't a god just go for a beautiful train ride across the Midwest?" Hermes asked. I raised my eyebrow and he smiled. "Ok, I have a package, but can't we wait on that?"

_I have Hephaestus on line one_ Martha said. _And Calypso on line two and Bob the titan on line three..._

"Tell them to wait," Hermes said.

…a_nd Zeus on line four._

"Great. Excuse me for a second," Hermes said turning the laptop into a cell phone and getting up while talking on it. We all looked at each other trying to decide whether or not to leave. Hermes was usually a good guy so I decided to stay and see what he had to give us.

"Sorry about that," he said, sitting back down. "You don't keep the big guy waiting. Laptop please." The phone turned back into a laptop.

_Ugh, not again _Martha said.

_They sell rats on Amazon _George said.

"Quiet!" Hermes said while typing on his laptop. Some people in the train looked over but he waved his hand and they suddenly became very interested in their meals.

"Hermes," Airiana said. "Aren't you the god of travelers?"

"Yea," he said, smiling in her direction. "Among other things."

"Well, since we're on a trip that makes us travelers right?"

"Yea," Hermes said, still smiling.

"So you could like protect us right?" she asked, putting as much charm into it as she could.

"You're certainly something aren't you?" Hermes said still typing on the caduceus-laptop without looking at it. "The short answer is yes, I could protect you from mortal ills. But I can't protect you from immortal ills. We gods are bound by certain laws and one of them is that we cannot infringe upon each other's business. Bad things usually happen when we do; for you mortals and for us. Zeus gets involved and that is NEVER good. So I can protect you from mortal ills. I can tell you that the man in the corner has a gun and plans to rob the train somewhere in Arizona when he gets close to his getaway car. But I can't protect you from the monster which boarded this morning. Understand?"

"Wait," Jayzon and I said at the same time. "What monster?" Hermes ignored the question.

_My lord, we are approaching Memphis _Martha said.

"Well, that's my stop," Hermes said. "Nice talking to you."

"Wait, you said you had a package," I said.

"Ah yes, George," Hermes said.

_Rat first,_ George said.

_George! Deliver the package or he'll turn us into a mini!_ Martha said.

_But I'm hungry!_ George said. Martha took off after him and they slithered around to the other side of the laptop.

"Ugh, gross," Jayzon said as he watched the fight I couldn't see. When George rounded the side of the screen and showed up on my side again his mouth was open wide and a small, eight inch, cardboard cube was slowly coming out. He dropped it on the table all while eluding Martha and slipping under the computer.

I picked up the box and immediately dropped it again. It felt like it had burnt my fingers, and when I looked, blisters were already forming. "Sorry about that," Hermes said, fishing some ambrosia out of his bag and handing it to me. "The package is for her, you can't touch it until she opens it. New security measures and all." I ate the ambrosia and the burns immediately began to heal, but that didn't make me feel any better.

Airiana reached out and tenderly touched it. Once she was convinced it wouldn't fry her she picked it up and opened it. She pulled out a pair of keys with what appeared to be the Honda symbol on the hilt.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.

"You? Nothing," Hermes said. "Give them to Winston here; he's been training to drive his whole life."

"But we don't have the car," I said, ignoring the name. I was still worried about what Mr. D. had said.

"You will in due time," he said cryptically.

Airiana reached into the box and pulled out another item. It was a small leather pouch, tightly sealed at the top with a drawstring. It looked ancient and yet it didn't have a single crack on it at all.

"What is it?" she asked.

"A seed bag," Hermes said. "A gift from your mother, it's blessed to never break. Just think about it and reach in, you can pull any seed that has ever been in creation out of there."

"Why should we trust you?" she asked. I just about kicked her but Hermes laughed.

"You've got spunk Airiana Wilson. It will be interesting to see your choice as well."

"Wait, what choice?" she asked.

"You are a child of Persephone, goddess of vegetation and Queen of the Underworld. You hold life and death in your hands. Eventually, you'll have to choose which you like more."

The train began to slow down and Hermes began to pack up. "Off to see Elvis, enjoy your trip while you can," he said as he left the car.

"What do you mean 'while you can'?" I asked but he ignored it and left the car without another word.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day seemed to crawl by as all three of us were seeing monsters everywhere. There was a biker lady that I swore was a kindly one, but she just got her coffee and returned to whatever car she had come from. Then there was a large, black dog which scared the living daylights out of Airiana, but it turned out to belong to one of the employees, who apologized profusely. Then Jayzon spotted a stray chihuahua but it quickly was claimed by one of the passengers, a robust woman somewhere in her thirties. She smiled at us and apologized for the inconvenience. When a bird flew into the cab and Jayzon swore it was a killer bird-monster thingy I decided to put a stop to it.<p>

"Guys, if a monster attacks, they usually announce themselves. We need to relax, maybe Hermes was just playing with us," I said. "Either way, we need to save our paranoia for the underworld."

"You sure man?" Jayzon asked. "I mean, Chiron tells us to be constantly ready."

"Well, we need to be ready," I said. "Just not paranoid."

"_Tulsa, Oklahoma next exit,_" a voice said over the intercom. "_Any passengers who will be getting off should get ready now. We will be there in twenty minutes. Thank you for taking our train!_"

"That guy is way too happy," Airiana said. I agreed as I got up to get a refill on my Diet Coke. Honestly, a train that didn't have Mountain Dew anywhere! How they could possibly stay in business was beyond me. I got behind the lady with the crazy chihuahua, which was currently growling at me. I got on the other side of her.

"Not now sonny, closer," she said to the dog.

I froze. _Sonny_? I turned and studied her a little closer as buildings began to come into view in the windows, the markings of a beautiful suburban town. Her complexion was that of a forty year old woman but her eyes were older. Much older. I looked at the dog who was staring straight at me. His eyes were beady and intelligent. Very intelligent and vicious.

I left the coke and bolted back to our table taking out _Sabertooth _as I went. "Were going, now!" I said before Airiana and Jayzon could ask what was going on. Jayzon got up, but Airiana just sat there. Jayzon pulled her arm quickly and she got up.

"Well they appear to be running, son," the fat, old lady said. "I guess we go now."

I stole a look back. The chihuahua was showing its true form: a chimera. It had already grown to the size of a greyhound and didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. The few passengers who were in the dining car found an exit as quickly as they could, but I didn't think it would do much good. The chimera was already the size of a lion with skin which seemed to actually be flames and a ten-foot long snake which served as a tail. The chimera was waging its tail, causing the car to rock side to side, gently at first, but with each wag the tail hit the side and caused the car to tilt harder and harder.

"RUN!" I said too late. The chimera hit the wall of the train one last time and it tilted too far to the right. We all flew into the roof of the car as it derailed onto a suburban side street, crushing one car and hitting a couple others as the train came to a sliding halt.

The chimera was up first, turning and firing a small column of fire at us. Jayzon and I were able to jump out of the way but the fire slammed into Airiana. My heart stopped as I watched Airiana burn in the heat, sure I had lost her forever. But when the fire stopped Airiana was still standing, red and shaking but still standing.

"You'll pay for that," she said, bringing out _Goliath._

"Airiana, not here," I said pointing to the large hole in the car's roof caused by the chimera's breath. Thank the gods she understood and the three of us bolted through the hole, barely avoiding another column of fire.

We ran as fast as our camp-trained legs could carry us (which is pretty fast) up one street and down another, each one sure we would lose the chimera, each one failing to do so. Airiana put away her sword as I pulled out my shield. She began to mess around with her little seed bag, which I didn't think was going to do all that much good. She pulled out a handful of tiny seeds and threw them on the ground before grabbing me and pulling me behind the next building. She reached for Jayzon but couldn't reach him and he was out of screaming distance before we could stop him (not that we could scream loud enough to get over sirens and mortal screams anyway). She turned back and stuck out her hand.

The chimera was running over the seeds she had dropped when I turned. As I watched large green vines sprung from the seeds and caught the chimera, causing it to nosedive into the street. More and more vines sprouted and grew around it, entangling it in a mass of green. Within a minute the chimera had disappeared beneath a mound of writhing, green ivy.

The explosion rocked the entire city block. The chimera seemed to unload all its energy into a single column of fire, burning up Airiana's lovely mound of ivy along with every building in the area. We jumped back from the burning side of the building we were hiding behind.

"Nice idea while it lasted," I said before pushing her along the alley as quickly as we could.

I had no idea where we were, I had no idea where Jayzon was, but I figured it could wait. I did have an idea where the chimera was and it was a lot closer than I liked. We ran down what appeared to be a main street, a river on one side. I wished, for the two hundred and seventeenth time, that I was my father. I could just jump in the river and use it to easily defeat the firedog-on-steroids behind me. I'd probably throw in some flair too. But I didn't have the powers of Poseidon; I was supermom. But that did give me an idea.

"Airiana," I said. "Plan 68." I was hoping she had been in camp long enough to memorize the basic battle strategies we all had to learn. She nodded, indicating she got what I said and turned down the next alley. I went a few steps further and turned, bringing my shield down in front of me. I prayed to Hera for a little extra power, thinking I was going to need it.

The chimera had stopped just past the alley that Airiana had turned down and was staring at me like he wanted to play chicken. I willed on my powers and felt the tug at my gut. At least that was working. "Hey guy, how's the good dog today?" I said in a baby voice. I was seriously going to need some help to pull this off. "You're a good little puppy aren't you sonny? Yes you are, yes you are." I began to step closer slowly as the chimera began to lose its concentration. I went for the ultimate mom power: guilt trip. "You don't want to hurt me now do you? Who would feed you? Who would be there for you? I want to help you. I can help you. You don't have to be an unloved monster, you can be adored if you'd just not hurt me. You don't have to hurt poor defenseless demigods."

The chimera's flame went out, its face sullen and guilty looking. It reminded me of a puppy who just peed on the floor. Its snake tail was still and drooping like it was sad too. But I noticed a problem. The chimera's skin was scaly and hard, like it was armored. Airiana came out anyway, _Goliath _raised high ready to strike. "Tail!" I screamed, but I was too late. She swung down hard on the chimera's back. The sword struck the scales hard and bounced off, almost hitting Airiana. The blow brought the chimera out of its daze. It looked around for a couple seconds and then let loose a blowtorch on me while the snake wrapped around and bit at Airiana.

Airiana's new armor saved her for a second time that day as the snake bite resulted in one hurt snake and one just fine Airiana. But it came back and hit her like a bat and sent her flying past me. Meanwhile I did the only thing I could do. I raised my shield against the flame, bringing _Sabertooth _into sword mode and cutting the leather straps off my arm before the shield burned it off. When the flame died down there was a very angry chimera and no shield to be found. I had lost it.

I turned and ran past Airiana who was just starting to run when I passed by.

"That didn't work," she said, catching up to me and motioning toward another side street. We turned down just as the chimera sent another flame bullet, which hit some poor motorcycle.

We ran for a few more feet and then turned down an alley way which took a left turn about twenty feet down. We made the turn and discovered a major problem: a dead end. I scanned the walls looking to make a Jackie Chan like escape, but each of the walls was at least twenty feet high. We were stuck. I turned back around only to see the chimera blocking our way, a smile on its face.

"Can you shadow travel?" I asked Airiana.

"What's shadow traveling?" she asked.

"I'll take that as a no," I said.

The chimera was in no hurry now that we were cornered. Both of its mouths were facing us, longing in all four eyes. I thought about trying to sweet talk it again, but figured that it wouldn't work twice. This was an intelligent monster. It advanced on us slowly, drooling all over the concrete. I was looking around for anything which would save us but I was coming up empty. Suddenly there was a twang sound and a bronze arrow appeared sticking out of the chimera's back. Two twangs followed and two more arrows sprang from its back, seeming to have found a seam in the armored skin of the beast. Its face went blank in shock and then it began to glow.

Airiana saved my life. I recognized what was about to happen too late to save myself but Airiana dove on top of me just as the chimera exploded. Her armor protected us both from the blast. My legs got singed a bit, and it hurt a lot, but it was nothing that a little ambrosia couldn't fix. I could feel her heart beating over mine, even through her armor.

"I love you," I said.

"I know," she said with a wink. "You owe me for that."

"Woo Hoo!" a voice said nearby.

Airiana teleported off of me as I said, "I should have known."

Sure enough Jayzon was floating down from the rooftop on one of his kite arrows which allows him to fire a hang glider and use it. I tried to get up but my legs must have been burnt a bit more than I thought. "You wouldn't happen to have any ambrosia would you? We're out."

Jayzon handed me a square and I immediately began to heal, at least enough to walk. "That's the last I got," Jayzon said. "The rest was on the train."

"So were broke in Oklahoma without any provisions. What now?" Airiana said.

"We go get more," Jayzon said.

"Where and with what money?" I asked.

"My house is just a couple miles from here," Jayzon said. "I keep a stash there."

"Wait, you live here?" Airiana and I said together.

"Well of course," Jayzon said. "Where else would a child of Apollo live? Welcome to Broken Arrow!"


	9. The Fortune Cookie of Death

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, BMW, the Mario franchise, Friends, Honda or the song _Route 66_. I also have no affiliation with any of the Universities mentioned here and simply respect Coach Self. Go Jayhawks!

A/N: Many thanks to ThatGirlWhoLovesTheBeatles for adding my story.

Dani9513 and Mrs. D Criss (formerly gumibear8745) thanks for the reviews!

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: The Fortune Cookie of Death<p>

Jayzon has the coolest house in the world!

Ok, back up.

We walked out of the alley and quickly decided it would be a good idea to get out of there before the mortal police arrived to determine the source of the explosion. It had only been a few years since that terrorist struck Oklahoma City, just a few miles west, and we didn't want to become wanted terrorists. I manipulated the mist as we got onto the street (so no one would see us) and we casually walked along the street back toward the river. About a block from the river we stopped and pulled into a carwash so Jayzon could Iris message his mother.

Half an hour later a thin, oldish, African American woman drove up to the car wash in a silver BMW with tinted windows and a wide smile on her face. She got out and gave Jayzon a great big hug, then hugged all of us in turn.

"This is an unexpected surprise!" she said. "What brings you here and why didn't you call ahead?"

"You hear those sirens?" Jayzon asked. His mother's smile disappeared. "Those are why we're here. We weren't exactly planning on stopping."

"Does this have to do with that demigod stuff?" she asked.

"Everything has to do with that demigod stuff," Jayzon said.

"Well, at least you're ok," she said, pushing a button on her keys which opened every door on the car. She pushed the trunk closed again. Once we were all in the car, she made us buckle up and took off.

"So, who are your friends?" she asked. Jayzon introduced us. "Airiana? That's a nice name. Goes well with Green," she said.

"MOM!" Jayzon said.

"What? Just saying," Mrs. Green said, turning away from the river. I caught Airiana smiling which didn't do anything for me. "You're aunt Irene called by the way. She says they're holding a spot for you on the Kansas Basketball team in a few years."

"Mom, that's like five years from now," Jayzon said.

"I know, but it's never too early to start thinking," she said.

"I'm thinking about not getting killed between now and then," Jayzon said loud enough for me to hear but no one else. I chuckled.

"She said Coach Self is calling her every other day," Jayzon's mom continued.

"Well, Coach Self would be calling you every other day if you hadn't had all your calls forwarded to Kansas City," Jayzon said.

"Yes, but it was getting very annoying," she said.

"Did she say if the Sooners called?" Jayzon asked hopefully.

"Didn't mention it."

"You should play for Arizona State," I said, ignoring Airiana rolling her eyes.

"Why is that?" Jayzon asked.

"Sun Devils," I said. Jayzon punched me.

Mrs. Green turned the car up a side street and passed a golf club house. As she continued to drive it reviled a beautiful golf course on the right side of the street. "Ben'll be on the course," Mrs. Green said as she continued to drive down the course passing the houses which had begun to appear along the different fairways.

"Good," Jayzon said.

"Now, now. You really should at least try to get to know him before you dismiss him," Mrs. Green said.

"He's not dad," Jayzon said.

"Well, no one is quite like your dad," Mrs. Green said, a smile creeping across her face as if she was enjoying the memories.

Mrs. Green followed the road along till we passed the sixth green. (Each of the greens had no houses nearby as if the course was showing then off) At that point she turned onto a small col-de-sac and turned into the third house from the right.

"You live on Hole 7?" I asked.

"Yea," Mrs. Green said as if waiting for the point. Jayzon caught my eye and told me not to push it. She wouldn't get that Apollo was cabin 7...

The house was a large, brick exterior and appeared very roomy from the outside. Once we stepped inside my breath was taken away. The entire Hera cabin could fit in the living room with room to spare. The room continued seamlessly into what appeared to be a dining room to the right and a seating area straight ahead. There was a small study to the left and a staircase spiraling up stairs. A cat bounded down the stairs and attacked Jayzon.

"Hey Luigi, missed you too," Jayzon said, bending down and petting the cat.

"He's been checking your room every night," Mrs. Green said from behind the dining room. She was making a lot of noise which told me the kitchen was back there. Jayzon set Luigi down and marched upstairs. Airiana and I followed.

He turned and went to the room at the end of the hall. The room was gigantic, with a king sized bed on one side, a television which was at least 72 inches across from it, a computer with two monitors for gaming in the corner, a kitchenette along the wall closest to us and a slot machine next to the door. But what made it the best were the twin closets in the corner next to the kitchenette. One was open and almost empty except for a few winter clothes hung up on the side. Jayzon opened up the other one. It was deep and lined with supplies: ambrosia, chocolate, weapons, shields, battle armor, test dummies, mountain dew, a couple basketballs and the complete collection of Friends DVD's.

"Sweet!" I said, heading for the mountain dew but Airiana pulled me back.

"Ambrosia first, you're still limping," she said. I complained but took the ambrosia. Once I felt 100% she handed me a bottle of mountain dew. Meanwhile Jayzon had grabbed two bags and was filling them full of the supplies. Once we were all fixed up and ready, we snuck downstairs but Jayzon's mom was ready and forced us to eat dinner with her. I was thankful too; I hadn't had anything since the train.

* * *

><p>Mrs. Green tried to get us to stay with her for the night but we refused. We were running out of time to get to L.A. She complained but let us go, apparently she had a lot of experience with Jayzon's "demigod thing." She at least insisted on driving us as far as she could. Thus we soon found ourselves in southwest Tulsa at a small gas station along an exit off the Turner Turnpike also known as Interstate 44. Jayzon had gone inside to use the restroom and Mrs. Green was talking on her cell phone. Judging from the sounds, Ben had noticed she wasn't home.<p>

I looked around the station. There were several cars coming and going from the eight pumps and about six cars were parked in front of the building. The building had many large windows out front which allowed me to keep an eye on Jayzon until he entered the bathroom. Once he did I looked examined the cars in the parking lot. There were five which were lined up right next to the door and one which was in the spot on the far end. I figured that one must be the cashier's. Jayzon emerged from the bathroom and began to head outside. He stopped at the door and turned, examining the car on the outside.

"Hey Alex," he said. "Try your keys."

It took me a moment for his suggestion to register but finally I remembered Hermes on the train. I got out the keys and hit the unlock button. The car Jayzon was standing next to began to flash its lights.

"No way," Airiana and I said at the same time. We walked toward the car as Jayzon opened the passenger door.

"The guy said his car was out back so I decided to check this weird one out. When I saw the Honda symbol I figured we should try it," Jayzon said.

A few minutes later we had packed the Honda (it was a model called the Fit, a very roomy but small hatchback. Very "Fitting" for a bunch of heroes), Jayzon had finished saying good bye to his mother and we were off.

"Where to?" I asked. "I know that I-44 doesn't go to L.A."

"Well, what other streets do?" Airiana asked. Jayzon only chuckled.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't get back on I-44," he said. "Look at the cross street." I looked. The sign on the side of the road was shaped like a large, white shield with numbers on it. After the sign stopped dancing around I was able to make out the name of the road: US 66.

"No man, not that road," I said.

"Why not?" Airiana asked.

"Few roads in America have reached mythological status. This is one of them. It attracts monsters like a magnet. Why do you think Eisenhower made the interstates? To get mortals off these roads."

"Well, do you have a better plan?" Jayzon asked. I sighed. He was right of course; I didn't have a better plan.

* * *

><p>The Fit gets major gas mileage. By the time we needed to stop for gas we were already through all of Oklahoma and across most of the Texas panhandle. Jayzon had gone to sleep almost immediately upon starting the car and Airiana had followed about an hour later (apologizing for some reason). I had expected to feel tired, but I never did. Either I just never got tired while driving, it was some Supermom power or the ambrosia had filled my energy tanks. I was betting on the last one.<p>

Jayzon woke up as we crossed into Texas, right as the sun peaked over the horizon behind us. About two minutes after the first yawn he started singing. Figures.

"_Now you go through Saint Looey, Joplin, Missouri_

_And Oklahoma City is mighty pretty,_

_You see Amarillo, Gallos, New Mexico,_

_Flagstaff, Arizona, don't forget Winona,_

_Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino,"_

"We haven't reached Amarillo yet," I chided. He continued without pausing. He did however turn from the window and smile at me, turning up the volume.

"_Won't you get hip to this timely tip:_

_When you make that California trip,_

_Get your kicks on Route 66!"_

"I don't get hip," I said. He stuck out his tongue and started to hum the tune. About two hours later Airiana awoke to Jayzon screaming "See! Amarillo!" She hit him.

The two of them entertained themselves with a rousing game of highway bingo, Jayzon had packed it in Airiana's backpack, which ended when I said the next one to spot a gas station wins. Airiana spotted it, a rundown gas station, restaurant combo. Even Jayzon agreed she won when he spotted the restaurant. Apparently he is used to a five course meal for breakfast.

The smell hit me when we entered the gas station after filling the Fit. I immediately forgot everything in the world except the fact that I was starving. Maybe that was the food; maybe it was the fact that neither mine nor Jayzon's stomach would stop growling.

None of us could read the menu so we simply ordered some burgers and fries. Jayzon got a turkey burger since cows were kind of sacred to his dad. The food arrived in record time and we all devoured the delicious food. They were cooked exactly how each of us liked it, with our favorite toppings. We savored each bite as we went, laughing and generally having a great time. It was the first time I had managed to relax since we had left Camp Half-Blood.

When the waitress brought us our bill, it had three fortune cookies on it, which I thought was strange since this wasn't a Chinese restaurant. But I figured that you didn't have to serve Chinese food to serve fortune cookies.

"How much is it?" I asked her since I knew there was no way I could read the bill.

"Oh, an arm and a leg," she said, smiling. We all laughed and she went back to the kitchen.

I opened my cookie first, followed by Airiana and Jayzon. I looked down at my fortune:

_Perhaps the fates have already smiled on you...Your lucky numbers are 1 3 5 8 13._

"Hey guys, this is weird," I said looking up. Airiana and Jayzon were looking at me with the palest faces I've ever seen. "What?" I asked. Airiana pushed her fortune toward me:

_You are about to be eaten...have a nice day. Your lucky numbers are 5 8 9 1 43._

Jayzon did the same:

_You will be boiled with ketchup...Your lucky numbers are 8 2 9 4 20._

I could feel my face drain of blood too. I looked around and noticed for the first time that we were completely alone and it began to register that there had not been another soul in the restaurant since we sat down. "I say we leave," I said causally. We all got up quickly and I grabbed my fortune off the table.

Blocking the exit was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. It wasn't grotesque ugly; she might even have been beautiful if she wasn't wearing so much makeup. Instead she had on enough stuff to make Aphrodite think twice. And of course there was the lion's body which her head was attached to.

"Hello, young heroes," she said. "Come to pay your bill. That will be an arm and a leg each. Now which one will it be?"

I looked around and noticed several of the cooks and waiters coming out and surrounding us, many of them with hungry looks on their faces. The others were barring their fangs.

"Wait," Airiana said. "You're a sphinx."

"Very astute," the sphinx said.

"Well, shouldn't we get a riddle or something before you eat us?" she asked.

The sphinx smiled. "Normally yes," she said, "you would be given a test. But unfortunately for you this awful girl destroyed my grading machine. I tried to grade the tests by hand but then Zeus told me I had to stop using red pen because 'it hurts their psyches,' so I decided it wasn't worth it anymore."

"But surely there is something we can do to save ourselves," I insisted, a little too urgently.

"Well, there is one question to test your whit," the sphinx said. "But no one gets that right so..."

"I'll do it," I said.

The sphinx stopped. "Well OK then," she said. "Who will answer the question?"

We looked at each other and finally Jayzon motioned to me.

"Why me?" I asked.

"A) you're the leader here. B) You've got Athena's blood in you," he said.

I stepped up.

The sphinx smiled. "What is the square root of 19,445,170,969?"

I froze, Airiana's mouth dropped open and Jayzon supplied an appropriate "We're so dead." I had to agree with him, I had no clue. I wasn't very good with numbers and terrible with mathematics. I was lucky to know that 2+2 = 4. Square roots were way past my level. But I wasn't going to give up. Jayzon was right. Somewhere in there, deep in there, existed Athena's blood. There was a way out of this. Then I got it. The fates had smiled on me.

"Um, why are you smiling?" Jayzon asked as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small, thin paper.

"135,813," I said.

"Wrong," the sphinx said. "Wait, that's cor...but that's impossible."

"The deal," I said.

"Yes, all right, you're free to go."

We didn't waste any time getting back to the Fit and getting on the road. Only after we were very far away did Airiana finally ask me, "How did you do that?" I handed her the fortune, which I hadn't let go of since the sphinx. She grabbed it and held it for both Jayzon and her to read. "_Perhaps the fates have already smiled on you...Your lucky numbers are 1 3 5 8 13? _But those numbers..."

"Were the answer," I finished. "I'd say the fates smiled on me all right."

"Can we please go a day without monsters?" Airiana asked.

"Not likely," Jayzon said. "Hades will be after you because of your mother, everyone hates Alex because of his mother and I destroyed Echidna's favorite chimera."

"Right," Airiana said. "You didn't have to answer that."

I chuckled. "Get your kicks on Route 66..."


	10. Airiana Has a Visitor

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, Chevrolet, Ford, Volkswagen, Honda, or the Wizard of Oz.

A/N: Thank you for Mrs. D Criss and The Winged Goddess of Freedom for reviewing.

To The Winged Goddess of Freedom: I don't think Jason will. Jason Grace is a son of Jupiter so I don't think he'll have the powers I am associating with Apollo. For instance, Jason could just fly, Jayzon has to use a hang glider arrow. I do think he will have awesome powers of his own though, and I think some of the powers could transfer since the sun is in the sky.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Airiana Has a Visitor<p>

We continued driving for approximately an hour before deciding to attempt to get off of Route 66, a decision which was largely due to the constant anxiety we all felt after our monstrous encounters. Every car that we passed or which passed us was delivering our next monster. And since so many gods were after us, we figured we shouldn't make it easy for them. It was also due to the fact that the road was incredibly boring being surrounded by nothing but desert with the exception of the occasional ghost town. Ok, that's a little exaggerated. Not much though.

The road we turned down was not any better than Route 66 in terms of scenery, but we figured we were still better off being away from that road. We kept ourselves entertained by attempting to stump Jayzon by mentioning a song he didn't know. At first Airiana and I were saying actual songs but we soon realized that Jayzon was a walking jukebox so we quickly started making up scenarios like "that classic 80's hit, Screaming My Head Off." Finally we gave up when Jayzon masterfully displayed the "instrumental phenomenon: A picture says 1000 words." Apparently he was just as good at improvising as he was at remembering actual songs.

We crossed over into Arizona at noon. That was the first time I thought something might be wrong. The road, which had been freshly paved and painted, began to sport potholes. Originally we decided that New Mexico must just be better at maintaining their roads than Arizona was but then we began to notice other problems. The billboards disappeared for about twenty miles and then reappeared; only this time they were selling things like "Auntie M's Garden Gnomes" and "Uncle Jeff's favorite Leisure Suits: 8 for a dime."

Originally I was freaking out about Auntie M's stuff; after all she wasn't supposed to be back yet. My father had fought "Auntie M," otherwise known as Medusa, and had sent her happy carcass back to Tarturus with love. She was supposed to take longer than this to reform. But the leisure suits produced another possibility, one which was enhanced by the presence of a broken down Chevrolet Tracker, followed a few miles later by a broken Volkswagen Golf and a few miles later by a 1964 classic Corvette. Finally we began to see people working on the cars as the models began to settle into the late forties and early fifties. The people seemed nice enough; the men were wearing clothing typical of the fifties, the women wearing those hideous neon, dresses with skirts that flew out way too wide. I never understood how those were popular. Finally even those disappeared; the people got sulkier looking and the clothes became very bland and obviously home made.

"Where are we?" Jayzon asked from the backseat, finally taking the time away from his singing to look outside.

"Jayzon, can you sing any song written?" I asked.

"Yup," he said.

"Can you sing 'Yellow Submarine' right now?" I asked.

Jayzon opened his mouth, but shut it again with a puzzled look on his face. "No," he said. "I know the song, but I can't sing it. Why?"

"Because it hasn't been written yet," I said as a town became visible on the horizon. "We're in the nineteen thirties."

* * *

><p>The town, if it could be called that, consisted of a few houses clustered around a central market. The market consisted of a small taco shop, which had about ten people eating inside, a small wooden saloon with significantly more people inside and a stucco post-office with a sign over the door reading GILA CLAW, ARIZONA. The taco shop looked like it had been refitted to include a small grocery store. Apparently the people couldn't afford the cooked food, they needed the supplies. They must have spent too much money at the saloon. Off in the distance stood a collection of sand dunes which were way too tall to be in this part of the desert. It looked like something was wanting to spring forth from them but couldn't for some reason. I figured they weren't good for us.<p>

Outside of the houses stood a grouping of shacks made up of pieces of scrap metal and old car parts. Each shack was between ten and thirty feet wide and stood with just enough room for a few people to lie down inside. Around the shacks stood women and children, some of which were looking at our Honda Fit with strange looks, but most were too busy to even look up. One of the children started to pull his mother's skirt and say "Look mommy, aliens!" I snapped my fingers and the boy immediately began pointing to the sky and was quickly reprimanded by his mother.

We pulled the car into a spot in front of the taco shop/grocery store, right next to a Model A Ford and a horse which was tied up to the front porch railing. Upon closer inspection, the shop wasn't as bad as it looked. There was a front porch with rockers on it and a few people sitting on it talking and reading the newspaper. I found a paper which someone had left and read the headline: "President Roosevelt Will Run for a Third Term!" So I was right, the thirties.

"I think we're invisible," Jayzon said as he and Airiana came up next to me. "No one seems to be paying us any attention."

"Because I manipulated the mist," I said. "We look normal to them so they aren't giving us any attention."

"Oh," he said.

We walked into the shop and I was immediately hit by the sweet smell of herbs and spices. It appeared that was the only thing the store sold, other than the tacos. There was a chalkboard up next to the entrance to the restaurant which read "23 tacos left." I walked up an aisle of books and noticed something which didn't belong: the bright orange aluminum wrapper of a candy bar. I took a closer look and read "Fresh, Olympian Ambrosia!" on the wrapper.

"Hey Alex," I heard Airiana say from just down the aisle. I went over to her. She was staring at the opposite row. On the first shelf was a sign which read "Winston Jackson's Backpack, 10 drachmas." A paid stamp was plastered over the sign. I looked around, taking out _Sabertooth_, but not doing anything with it. What I noticed was the clerk was looking right at me with her piercing, gray eyes. After locking eyes with me she nodded, turned and went back into the back of the store. I picked up the backpack and looked inside. Sure enough it was my backpack which had been left on the train in Tulsa. But most of the contents were gone. All that was left was my mortal money, the drachmas (minus 10) and two small tents which only fit in the pack because it was magical.

"Is it yours?" Airiana asked.

"Yea," I said. "All the stuff's gone though."

"That's ok, most of it was replaced by Jayzon anyway," she said.

We found Jayzon and decided to leave town. It was nice that we now had my pack and stuff, but there was something way too weird about this town for my liking. We decided to make a pit stop by the small gas station on the outskirts of the Hoovervilles (what the shacks were called. My mother always made me study my history) and then we would be on our way. Unfortunately, whoever was messing with us had another thought up their sleeve.

As soon as we exited the coffee shop and got into the Fit, the wind picked up incredibly quickly and began swirling sand around the car. By the time we could see again the road was almost completely covered in sand, the shacks were gone along with the people and the horse, the sign over the post office was hanging down by a thread (or more likely a nail) and half the post office wall had fallen down. The taco shop had a closed sign permanently displayed over its door and the saloon had been completely reclaimed by the desert. The gas station was barely visible at the edge of what appeared to be a large, metal mountain range. Suddenly I knew exactly where we were. I got back out of the car.

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," Jayzon said as he and Airiana got out as well. Airiana hit him.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Same place we were, much further into the future," I said.

"So what now?" Jayzon asked.

I pulled my old pack out of the back of the Fit and got out the tents. "We set up camp," I said. "Clearly someone wants to get our attention. We wait for them here."

* * *

><p>It took us about twenty minutes to figure out how to set up our tents, but once we figured it out they were pretty easy. The only reason we had any chance at all was that the instructions were written in Ancient Greek, solidifying my belief that someone was messing with us. We set up a watch schedule in the camp, Jayzon taking first watch so he didn't have to watch during the night. I prepared to go to sleep.<p>

Three hours later I was awoken by Jayzon's travel alarm and went out to relieve him. When I left the tent I realized that there was a major problem, namely the fact that Jayzon was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Airiana was sitting in a small chair made out of thickly woven vines smiling at me. She reached into her bag, grabbed some seeds and threw them on the ground next to her. Soon there was another, matching chair which she motioned for me to sit in.

"Where's Jayzon?" I asked as I took the seat.

"He ran off after some wood nymph about an hour ago," she said. "I catch sounds of him running into walls every once in a while." Almost as if on cue came a loud grunt as Jayzon slammed into the back wall of the taco shop. Airiana shook her head.

"Isn't he supposed to be asleep?" I asked, noticing that the sun was down, leaving only the faint hint of orange on the horizon.

"Maybe," she said. "I mean he is half human. He doesn't run completely on his dad's schedule."  
>Suddenly the air was lit up by bright white headlights. The car ran silently up the road next to our camp, both of us standing up and drawing weapons before it arrived. Jayzon appeared next to us, bow in hand, as a white limousine pulled up in front of us.<p>

The back door opened and a large, well built and scruffy looking man stepped out. He wouldn't have looked out of place in the worst bar in the worst part of the worst town you can think of, but I couldn't decide whether he would be the bouncer or the one they were trying to bounce. He had on a torn t-shirt depicting the battle of Gettysburg and a leather biker's jacket, leather pants and black combat boots. His hair was cut close in a military style and his grin extended almost to his wraparound sunglasses. In his hand were twin pistols, one pointed at each of my friends.

"It looks like you brought a knife to a gun fight," he said. "Put them down, I don't want a scene. Too much paperwork."

"Ares," I said, not lowering my weapon at all. "What do you want with us?"

"Not all of you, just her," he said, motioning to Airiana. "My girlfriend wants to have a talk. In you go," he said, motioning to the door. Airiana looked at me and I motioned to the door too. It was never wise to refuse a god.

Airiana stepped into the limo and Ares shut the door, pointing the guns at both Jayzon and me. "Now, are we just going to sit here pointing weapons at each other or are we going to be civil?" Ares said.

"Can you be civil?" I asked.

Ares laughed. "Good point. But you all seem destined to start a grand war, can't stop that now can I?"

I lowered my weapon, realizing that this was a fight I wouldn't be able to win. Jayzon though, seemed ready to go down fighting.

"Last time you said that you set it up!" he screamed, inching closer to Ares. Ares just smiled and pointed both guns at him.

"Want to challenge me punk?" he said. Jayzon began to respond but I cut him off.

"Jayzon! Go play with your nymph," I said. He never took his eyes off Ares but did lower his bow and turn around. Ares fired his gun at the ground. Jayzon whipped around in record time and fired an arrow straight at Ares' heart. Fortunately the god had raised a shied he didn't have before and blocked it.

"Hmm, good aim," he said as if it was the most amusing thing he had ever seen. I couldn't blame Jayzon. The god of war was known for producing feelings of anger and resentment. If you stayed in his presence too long you turned insane. Strangely though I wasn't feeling any different. It was an advantage I was sure the god knew but it wasn't one I was going to point out.

"You said a war was starting," I prodded.

Ares looked back at me. "Yeah, I did," he said as if that settled everything.

"What war?" I asked. "Nothing seems war-like to me."

"You're attacking Hades aren't you? Well, Hades has gone all cold and secessionist again as if something was reminding him of the old days. Something has happened that he doesn't like. And when he doesn't like something it usually turns good and nasty. Well, you're the only thing I can figure he's mad about. A war is coming kid, and you'll be a part of it."

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"You're that Percy pest's kid," he said. "It's in your blood."

"Don't talk about my father that way!" I said.

I could feel the flames that Ares had for eyes somewhere behind those glasses. "Watch it kid," he said. "I haven't forgotten what your father did to me. And remember, in my world, the sins of the father are passed onto the son."

"I'm aware," I said.

The door to the limo opened and Airiana got out looking very flustered and with a completely new face full of makeup; neither of which made me feel very good about the goddess I knew was inside.

"Watch your step kid, Hades is capable of things the rest of us only dream of," Ares said, getting back in the car. "You'll need to visit pump three up there and then find a way past the Junkyard. Don't take anything."

"Thanks," I said, trying to keep the sarcasm from my voice as the car pulled away. I took a seat again and Airiana found a rag and began to desperately rub the make-up off. Jayzon went into the tent with an apology, which I told him wasn't needed, and he was quickly asleep. Airiana sat back down in her chair without a word once the makeup was finally off.

"So what did Aphrodite want?" I asked cautiously.

"Nothing," she said.

"OK," I said and left it at that.

"She wanted to talk me out of joining the Hunters," Airiana said looking down.

"She doesn't like the Hunters," I said.

"What do you think?" Airiana asked, turning to me.

I took a deep breath. "I think you should follow your heart," I said.

Airiana turned away. "My heart is confused," she said. I simply waited. "I mean, I like the whole immortality thing and the idea of spending eternity with a bunch of girlfriends does sound like a lot of fun."

"But..." I prodded.

"But, I mean…I mean it sounds dull too. I mean I like you and Jayzon too and you wouldn't be allowed to come along. I...I just don't know."

"Which one do you like more?" I asked sheepishly.

She smiled. "I know you really like me," she said. "But that's just it. You seem to want me to run to Vegas and marry you today and Artemis wants me to run off and marry her forever and...I'm 14, Alex, I just don't want to make a decision like that yet. I haven't lived." I waited in silence for a long time before she finally said "Say something! Please."

"The Hunters are an interesting case. Don't rush into joining them if you're not ready for the commitment. Thalia only joined out of necessity."

"What happens if you don't follow the commitment?" she asked.

"Well," I said. "Artemis takes the vow VERY seriously. Take Callisto for example."

"Who's Callisto?" she asked.

"Callisto was a nymph who joined the Hunt. She followed the vow religiously and never even though about boys. Unfortunately she was extremely beautiful and caught the eye of one king of the gods. She resisted Zeus's advances and Zeus was forced to use trickery. He appeared to her as Artemis herself and, once invited in, abandoned the disguise and raped her. Callisto became pregnant."

"That's horrible," Airiana said. "What did Artemis do?"

"Once Artemis discovered that she had broken the vow?"

"Yes."

"she turned Callisto into a bear and hunted her down and attempted to kill her herself."

"But it wasn't her fault, I mean she was raped!" Airiana said.

"Doesn't matter," I said. "The oath is the oath."

"But there is still the immortality thing," Airiana said.

"It's not immortality, it's eternal youth," I said. Airiana looked at me confused. "You see that junkyard?" I asked. She nodded. "My father visited that with a Hunter named Bianca. Bianca fought off the guardian of that junkyard, a big metal giant with a bad attitude problem. Unfortunately she was still inside the big metal giant when it found some live electrical wires. She was found in the underworld a year later. A Hunter can still die in battle. Some of the Hunters live for several years, even thousands of years. Bianca was a Hunter for about a week."

"Surely there are some good things about the Hunters," Airiana almost begged.

"Well, eternal youth is good. You'll never have to worry about aging. You saw it in action: Thalia is two years older than my dad, but when my mother was kidnapped it was Thalia leading the quest and my dad was 'too old.'

"And the Hunters say that the world seems to slow down. They have unending energy and there seems to be more than 24 hours in the day for them. They can travel distances in superhuman time. They develop Artemis's powers, like the ability to hit anything with a bow and arrow. And I don't think they have to sleep at night. Plus, for the demigods, they don't lose their original powers. It's the only way to get more than one god's powers. Did I help at all?"

"No," Airiana said. "But I do thank you for trying. You're a good person Alex," she said, patting me on the shoulder before slipping into her tent for the night. That gave me all the energy I needed to keep watch the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>AN: I got the story of Callisto from the book "Demigods and Monsters," chapter 4 by Carolyn MacCullough. I highly recommend that book if you're planning on writing a PJO fan fic, it helps uncover the untold patterns. Also, the town is the same one which Percy visits in The Titan's Curse and the description is close to that one. It is page 176 if you're interested.


	11. We Get Some Help from the Undead

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or Honda.

A/N: Many thanks to 0-Yumenoyuki-0 for adding my story. Also, thanks to Dani9513, The Winged Goddess of Freedom, and Autumnleaftrack for reviewing.

Dani - I do like the Titan's Curse, though it is not my favorite, and I hope that the time change didn't interfere with your enjoyment of the chapter. Hopefully the strange quirks in this chapter won't confuse you too much. I try to explain it in chapter...

The Winged Goddess of Freedom: Ah, true. I'm not sure if he would get any of Hera's powers. It would be interesting if he did. I considered having Alex get Poseidon's powers at some point in the story, but decided that the gods would never allow such a powerful combination. It would be interesting to see the gods' reaction to someone with Jupiter and Hera's powers. I can't wait till I can get enough money to get Son of Neptune and enough time to read it.

Autumnleaftrack: Thank you for taking an interest in my story. I apologize that my stories move too fast. I try not to get bogged down in the exposition, but sometime I suppose I need to. Is there anything you're not understanding? As for Airiana, why would Persephone be banned from having kids? She's not the goddess of marriage. Perhaps you know some myth I'm not familiar with. When planning this, I knew her motives and Hades' response. It'll pop up in future chapters, I promise.

Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I hope this makes up for it. School keeps me busy, but I am trying to get these out as quick as I can. If I have missed a review or a person who has added the story, I am deeply sorry.

Now, on with the show...

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: We Get Some Help from the Undead<p>

I stayed on watch for several hours before I was relieved at dawn by Jayzon, who had way too much energy for 5 in the morning. Children of Apollo have some serious issues. After he came out, I went to sleep and got another couple of hours sleep before the day begins for reasonable people. That was a mistake.

My dream started off normal enough. I was clearly back in the fields of Asphodel, somewhere in the middle of the renovated section, in the corner under an elaborate steel overpass which was already flooded by the spirits of the dead. I paused, unsure of how close I could get without being noticed, and then realizing that I didn't know what I was worried about getting close to. I decided to play it safe by moving toward the wall of the bridge. Of course, it was only my consciousness moving, my actual body was still in Arizona. Demigod dreams are very confusing.

"Are you in or not?" I heard a voice say. It was the dark and menacing voice from my previous dreams.

"I don't know. They will all be resurrected?" a second voice asked. It wasn't the second voice I was used to. It was lighter, more refined.

"Yes, it will be as if you were starting fresh," the first voice said.

"And us," the second voice said. "No hard feelings?"

"No. This will be restitution. All will be forgiven," the first voice said.

There was a long silence.

"Think about it," the first voice said. "I sense a new visitor, I must send you off."

"Yes, my King."

There was a shuffling amongst the spirits, but I couldn't make out any specific features or any new one which was now moving.

"Is all going according to plan?" the dark, sinister voice asked.

"Yes, my King," a new voice said. This was the voice from my earlier dreams.

"And the girl?" the first voice asked.

"I thought you were going to deal with her," the new voice said.

"No, I cannot. It would ruin the plan," the sinister voice said.

"Very well. I will deal with her," the new voice said. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew I should recognize the voice.

"Good," the sinister voice said. "Where are you?"

"Over Arizona. Approaching," the new voice said.

Suddenly there was a commotion from behind the bridge as if something very unexpected and important was happening.

"I must go," the sinister voice said. "Stick to the plan, take out the girl. Olympus will be ours!"

"Yes, my King," the new voice said.

I sensed the conversation was over. I let out my breath, not even realizing I was holding it, and I willed myself awake. The inside of the tent had not been disturbed, but I could tell something was different. I just couldn't put my finger on it. The dream was still so vivid in my mind. They were over Arizona, right where we were. And they were talking about "the girl." Could they be talking about Airiana? Then a worse thought entered my mind. Could the voice, the one I should recognize, could it by Jayzon? Could my best friend betray the gods? It had happened to my family before...

I decided to take a quick walk before we tackled the graveyard. Once I opened the tent door, I finally figured out what was different. It was freezing cold. The June, Arizona desert was covered with an inch of snow. Airiana was awake and had grown a small tree, which she and Jayzon had chopped down and made into a small fire to keep warm. Airiana smiled and waved at me, motioning for me to join her by the fire. I shook it off. Cold or not, I needed to collect my thoughts.

"Dude, you ok?" Jayzon asked a few moments later. I had retreated a few yards away from the fire and was starring off into space. His question brought me back.

"Yea, just thinking," I said.

"You're pale and shaking," Jayzon said. "What's up?"

"They're just dreams," I said.

"Alex," Jayzon said, turning me to face him. "Demigods don't have 'just dreams.' What did you see?"

"Nothing, alright?" I replied. I felt bad about hiding it from Jayzon, but the truth was I couldn't trust anyone. I just didn't know who that other voice belonged to.

"Ok, man. Just trying to help," Jayzon said, backing away. "Anyway, we're getting ready to leave. I'll just go pack up."

"Jayzon," I said. "I'm sorry. I'm just really shaken up, and I don't know who I can trust."

"You don't think you can trust me?" Jayzon asked, sounding hurt.

"I don't know if I can trust myself," I said. "Someone is planning something, and I think they mean to kill Airiana. They said they're in Arizona." I paused for almost a minute. "I guess I'm just paranoid."

"You don't know what they're planning?" Jayzon asked.

"No," I lied. "Just that Airiana is in the way."

Jayzon nodded. I turned away again. Suddenly I was hit in the back of the head with a hard cold object.

"What was that for?" I asked, rubbing where the snowball had hit and turning to see Jayzon smiling at me with another in his hand.

"To cheer you up, man" he said, unleashing the snowball. "We need a leader with a clear head."

I smiled in spite of myself and picked up my own bit of snow. I found that the mixture of snow and sand made for an easy to form and deadly snowball. Soon Jayzon and I were dancing around, looking for cover and thoroughly soaking each other in snow. After a few minutes we called a truce (after I had Jayzon pinned and was pummeling him with everything I could find) and began to walk back to camp.

The fire was out and most of the tents were gone. Airiana was standing next to the last tent, picking up one of the stakes. I was about to say "Wow, you do good work," when he came around the other side. He was about five feet tall and dressed in a tattered Confederate soldier's outfit. He was also very dead, with patches of skin on a mostly skeletal body. Another person, this one dressed in a mountain man's coat and sweatpants, soon creeped around the other side of the tent, pulling out the final stakes.

"Who are these?" I asked.

"What are these?" Jayzon replied.

Airiana smiled. "This one," she said, pointing to the mountain man, "is Geoffrey Stall and the other is Christopher O'Leary. As for what they are, I'm not quite sure."

"How did they get here?" I asked.

"They rose from the ground," she said.

"How?" Jayzon asked.

"Well, you and Alex started pounding each other and I screamed 'Hey, guys, help me!' and they started crawling up from the ground." She watched Christopher and Geoffrey fold the tent and then turned to look at us. We both had very funny faces I'm sure, because she started laughing hysterically.

"What?" she asked.

"I've only ever heard of children of Hades doing that," I said.

"Well, I'm a child of Persephone, maybe I get that too," she said.

"Of course," I said.

"Of course what?" Jayzon asked.

"The snow, and the fanfare in the Underworld. Persephone is back in the Underworld, that's why Airiana could summon these guys. Demeter is punishing the world for the loss of her daughter."

"Makes sense to me," Airiana said.

"What fanfare? Underworld?" Jayzon asked suspiciously. I didn't answer, I'd already said too much.

* * *

><p>An hour later we had said "good-bye" to Christopher and Geoffrey after they had packed the Fit for us and we had driven it over to pump 3, filled up the tank (Ares charged us! $4.75galleon) and now we were staring at a mountain of metal blocking the road.

"So, what do we do now?" Jayzon asked as we stood next to the car, looking at the vast fields of metal.

"Pray that Hephaestus comes and builds a tunnel?" I asked.

"Why did he block the road anyway?" Jayzon asked. "You'd think he could have some common courtesy."

There was a rumble in the middle of the junkyard. "Um, Jayzon, I think you should be a little more respectful," I said. "We've got enough gods against us, no need to add one more."

"Um, I think you might just be right," Jayzon said, backing up from the sound. "Sorry, o great, wonderful, powerful Hephaestus. Um, please forgive me thy servant?"

The sound in the junkyard stopped, but there was still the sound of the uncontrolled laughter from Airiana and me. I think I even heard some from the metal too.

"You guys suck," Jayzon said. "Now what?"

Airiana sighed and pulled some seeds from her magical bag and threw them on the ground. With a wave of her hand, some green began to appear in the white and brown of the desert snow. Small vines grew thicker and thicker and began to intertwine themselves, weaving a wide arc over the junk. They began to grow down and across, forming seamlessly into a bridge of vegetation that appeared sturdy enough.

"You've gotten pretty good at this stuff," I said, moving back toward the car.

"I'll still need to adjust it as we go along, I can't see beyond a certain point," she said.

"It's still better than I could do," Jayzon said.

Once we were all back into the car, I drove up onto the bridge and slowly began to move across the junkyard. After a while, I grew more comfortable with the organic bridge and sped up until Airiana said she wouldn't be able to extend the bridge at this speed.

Everything was going well until we got well into the pile of metal, the point where all we could see was metal in all directions. The trouble started with a slow rumbling from below the bridge, something which was indistinguishable at first but which grew more and more noticeable as we kept going. It was Jayzon who first pointed it out.

"Is that the car?" he asked.

"What?" I asked.

"That noise, is that the car?"

Finally I heard it, a slow rumbling as if something metal was purring. "I don't think so," I said.

"The plants are becoming restless," Airiana said. "I can't control them very easily. It's almost like-" she said, but she was interrupted by a giant metal spike shooting up through the middle of the bridge right in front of us. "-like something is moving beneath them," she finished.

Another metal column appeared through the bridge behind us, making the bridge wobble uncomfortably over the vast sea of metal. Suddenly I knew what was happening.

"Grab your pack and get out," I said. No one needed convincing.

"What's going on?" Airiana asked when we were all out of the car. Another pillar had appeared to our left.

"Hephaestus is punishing us for disturbing his junkyard," I said. "By leaving, I'm thinking we can offer the car as a sacrifice and get him off our back."

"What makes you think that's going to work?" Jayzon asked.

"I don't know. I just know it will work. It's almost like I know something about Hephaestus," I said.

"Cause that makes sense," Jayzon said.

"If we're going, I think we should go quickly," Airiana said as a fourth pillar appeared on our right and all four began to move at the top like metal water was flowing down them.

"I agree," I said. "Jayzon, Airiana, got anything?"

Jayzon pulled out his bow and fired three arrows into the air. As he was doing this I noticed that what I thought was water was starting to jump from one pillar to the others, stringing a thin metal strand which connected the two.

"They're spiders," Airiana said. I nodded.

"Alright, grab on!" Jayzon said. I looked and saw three hang gliders standing in front of us. The web was almost complete about thirty feet above us. Suddenly the ground rumbled and the pillars began to descend toward us. "Now!" Jayzon said.

I grabbed one of the hang gliders and Airiana happened to go for the same one. I started to run for the third (Jayzon had one to himself), but Airiana grabbed my wrist. "There's not time," she said. I nodded and she jumped.

The hang glider tumbled to the ground faster than it was supposed to, but it still broke our fall enough so we didn't get hurt and it got us far enough out that we weren't under the web. We turned around and watched as the web pulled the bridge and the car down to the mountains of metal, crushing both under its weight.

"So what now?" Airiana asked again.

"We walk of course," Jayzon said, wading up behind us.

"Walk where?" I asked. "Which metal points toward L.A.?"

"That one," Jayzon said, pointing to one in the distance.

"How do you know?" Airiana asked.

"Because the sun is that way and the sun is currently in the west," Jayzon said as if that should be obvious. "You can let go of each other's hands now."

I looked down. Airiana hadn't released my hand since we had grabbed the hang glider. I blushed and looked away. "Nice trick," I said to Jayzon. "You really saved us back there."

"Thank you, Romeo," he said.

I smiled. "Lead on, sun boy," I said.

* * *

><p>We walked across the fields of metal for the rest of the day before we finally saw dark sand on the horizon. About an hour later we stepped off the metal on onto the muddy mess that was the desert. Apparently, the desert wasn't ready for that morning's snow to melt. I held my breath as we stepped out of the junkyard, but apparently none of us had taken anything. Either that or Bianca Di' Angelo's sacrifice still hadn't been fixed.<p>

"Ok, now what, sun boy?" I asked.

"We keep walking," Jayzon said.

We walked about a mile before the road we were on ran into what appeared to be a major highway. A car rushed by and honked at us.

"That was nice," Airiana said.

"They're right," I said. "It is dangerous to be on this road. We need to find transportation."

"Anyone got a cell phone?" Airiana asked.

"No," Jayzon said as if it was obvious. It was of course, demigods don't use cell phones. Suddenly a semi truck passed by and gently pulled to a stop a few feet to our left. The door opened and a buff man got out in a plaid button up shirt and ragged jeans. It didn't look like he had taken a shower in about a week.

"You kids lost?" he asked.

Airiana and Jayzon looked to me. I thought it was risky but I didn't see any other options. "Yes," I said. "We're going to Los Angeles."

The trucker laughed. "Well, I'm going to Anaheim. If you'd like, I can take you that far at least."

"Thank you sir," I said. He got back into the truck and we slowly approached the vehicle. "Keep your eyes open," I said.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Airiana said. "If there's a problem, what should we do?"

"Use your weapons," I said.

"Um, Alex," Jayzon said. "All our weapons are all celestial bronze and he smells very mortal to me."

"Well than let's hope there is not a problem," I said.

We took turns sleeping in the back of the truck with two on watch. Airiana slept first, Jayzon attempted to discreetly Iris message the camp from the water cooler in the back. The water which reached the drain was filtered back into the cooler making the message possible. It also meant we had to be careful what went down that drain. I was sitting in the passenger seat, keeping an eye on the driver.

"You can get some sleep too, you know," he said.

"I know," I said. "I'd rather be here."

He smiled. "Don't trust me?"

"No," I said.

"Well, that's probably smart of ya," he said. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. "Why were you on that road?" he asked.

"Our car broke down," I said.

"Do you want me to drop you off at Kingman?" he asked. "You could call in repairs from there."

"No, the car is beyond repair," I said. "It's junk now."

He chuckled. "You runnin son?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You runnin?" he repeated. "From home?"

"No," I said. "We're orphans." It was a bad lie, and I don't think he bought it, but it was the best I could come up with. I'm 14, cut me some slack.

"You like music?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. He smiled and turned on the radio. The radio was on talk radio. "...the boy implicated in the Tulsa bombing." He went to turn the channel, but I stopped him. "Although there is no eyewitness that remembers seeing them there, the boy and girl in question were caught on camera. Details are still sketchy, but we do know that the girl's name is Airiana Wilson, 14, of Iowa City. She was reported missing three weeks ago from a boarding school in upstate New York. The boy's name is still unknown, and police are not commenting on his connection to Airiana's disappearance."

"Sad," the driver said.

"What is?" I asked, trying to remain uninterested.

"That children go so astray," he said.

"Yea," I said. "Um, I need a drink."

"Ok," he said. He appeared amused.

"Did you hear that?" Jayzon asked.

"Yea," I said.

"What do we do?' he asked.

"Warn her not to mention her name to the driver," I said.

"Ok, and after that?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I'll think of something." Jayzon just shook his head. I wished he would have said something. I needed a joke right now.

"I'll take a turn up front," he said. I nodded and sat down on the bed next to Airiana. Only two of us were seen in Tulsa, Airiana and "a boy," which I was guessing was me. Jayzon was in the clear. He had never seemed to be in any real trouble on this quest. Airiana and I were the ones getting chased by the chimera, we were the ones in the way of that hell hound in capture the flag and now we were the ones running from the police. I hated to admit it, but I was really starting to be suspicious of Jayzon. No, I had to get that thought out of my head. Jayzon was good. He had to be.

The rumble of the engine was the only thing letting me know the world was still going while I thought, and I had a lot to think about.


	12. We Meet Up with Some Old Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, Sleeping Beauty, Disney, Starbucks, Huntington Bank (whose logo I sort of used).

Many thanks to RiderJacob56, VidielSilverbane and Capt. C Obvious for adding my story.

A/N: I apologize for the long time between updates. I'm struggling to find time with all the school. Hope everyone is doing well.

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: We Meet Up with Some Old Friends<p>

I was awakened by the truck's air horn. I had sat down to get a drink and talk with Jayzon and the next thing I knew, I was laying across the floor of the back of the cab and drooling on the rug. I had not had any dreams, which was good, but I hadn't exactly had the best bed either. It took several minutes to get up; I kept falling over because my body felt like it was on fire. Steel is not the most comfortable thing in the world.

Once I had finally got up, I went over to get a drink and was interrupted by Jayzon entering the cab.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty lives," he said.

"Shut up," I said. "How long was I asleep?"

"Well, we're in the suburbs of Anaheim," Jayzon said. "So quite a while." Wow, I must have really been tired.

"Where's Airiana?" I asked.

"You mean Mary Huggins?" Jayzon asked. "Talking to the driver."

"Who's Mary Huggins?" I asked

"The name Airiana is using when talking to the driver. Remember, she's a wanted criminal now," he said.

"Right," I said. I was slowly catching back up. The horn went off again and Jayzon and I decided to head up to the cabin. When we opened the door, I realized why the driver was honking his horn. The streets of Anaheim were flooded with cars, all of them weaving from one lane of unmoving traffic to another lane of unmoving traffic and all those small "Smart" cars were cutting off the semi truck with reckless abandon.

"We'll be at your stop soon," the driver said. "You'll be able to get a taxi from there."

"We don't have that much money," I said.

"Well, I might be able to get you some," he said.

When we arrived at his stop, a local grocery store, he backed his truck up to the dock in the back and walked us around to the front of the store to pick up some food and handed us a credit card with a design consisting of a blue hexagon with a big H in it, which he promised had enough to pay for a taxi and little more.

"Thank you sir," I said as I was ready to leave. "How could I ever repay you?"

"Oh, I trust you'll find some way," he said winking. "Now, time to get on your way. I've taken the liberty of calling a taxi for you."

"Where are you going from here?" Jayzon asked. I shot him a warning but he ignored me.

"I'm headed back the way I came," he said. "I'll look for your car."

"You won't find it," I said.

"We'll see," he said, winking again. "Now, I must leave to do my job. Take care you three."

A few minutes later a golden taxi from the _Olympic Taxi Service _pulled up to the front door of the grocery store. Jayzon and Ariana immediately got into the cab but I could tell that something was wrong. I've known that I was a demigod long enough that I am always suspicious of anything I can actually read. Finally though, I decided it was just a momentary bit of good luck and sat down next to Airiana. I did pull out _Sabertooth_, in toothpick form, just in case.

"Where you going?" the driver asked. I couldn't see much of the driver (there was a divider) but he seemed to be about 6 ft. tall and buff.

"Um..." Jayzon said. "Alex?"

"DOA Recording Studios," I said.

The driver seemed to think for a moment before he finally said "I'm not aware of a DOA Recording Studios. Do you have an address?"

"No," I said. "All I know is it's in downtown LA."

"Well, I can take you there at least," he said and he floored it.

The truck driver had great difficulty in the traffic. The cab driver had no such issues. He weaved in and out of traffic with ease, fitting into spaces which I swore were not there a second before all while whistling a tune that was supposed to match the radio, but really only came out as a scratchy, coarse sound. He must have smoked a few too many packs.

Once we crossed into LA, he asked us for more specific directions, but we were clueless. Airiana and Jayzon were both looking to me expectantly and I was letting them down. I knew that the entrance was in LA and that it was at DOA Recording Studios. But I had never been to LA and I had never talked with dad about that particular trip.

"Um," I said.

"Can we call someone?" Airiana asked.

"Not with a cell," Jayzon said about a second before I would have.

"A land line then?" Airiana asked.

"No, an Iris Message," I said. "But where?"

"There!" Jayzon said, pointing at a small market square a few feet off the street. The taxi driver seemed to have heard Jayzon because he immediately turned off the street and drove straight into the heart of the square, pulling right up next to the fountain in the middle. A small rainbow was hovering over the two horses, standing back to back and spitting water into the sky. I pulled out a drachma and sent Jayzon and Airiana inside a small Tasty Taco restaurant on the edge of the square for lunch.

The driver got out of the cab and stood next to me. "Can I ask a favor?" I asked.

"I can do anything," he said. It bothered me that I couldn't get a good look at his face beneath his hood. Stupid Demeter and this cold. "I just need payment. I do nothing for free."

"Right," I said. "Just keep a lookout." I threw the drachma into the rainbow, trusting the mist to hide it from the mortals in the square, and said "O goddess, accept my offering. Percy Jackson at Camp Half-Blood." The drachma flew into the rainbow and disappeared, replaced by a vision of the pavilion at Camp and the back of my father's head.

"DAD!" I yelled.

"Huh?" he said, turning around. I waited for his eyes to widen in recognition before continuing, but he beat me to the punch, "Winston! What are you doing? Wait, where are you?"

"LA," I said. "We're looking for DOA recording studios. I was hoping you could direct us."

Dad smiled at me. "You made good time," he said. "I'm proud of you."

"So, can you help me or not?" I asked.

"Where are Jayzon and that Andrea girl?" he asked.

"Dad!"

"What?"

"First, it's Airiana," I said. "Second, can you help me or not?"

His face fell. "No," he said. "I have no idea where I was when I found the underworld. And besides, I think they move the entrance around LA periodically."

Neither of us spoke for a few moments. Finally I said "You know nothing?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "Just remember, flattery can get you farther than - WINSTON LOOK BEHIND YOU!" Suddenly a jet of dark green liquid flew over my head and hit the Iris message, dissolving the vision and then the liquid fell on the fountain and dissolved the fountain into a slimy puddle of green goo.

I performed a perfect about-face and found myself staring at the strangest sight I had ever seen. The monster was gigantic. The body was as large as a small elephant, with scaly, leathery skin. Six necks writhed out of the top of the body, dancing about like they were confused by the sight of all the frightened mortals running for their lives. The heads were triangular and snakelike (one even had a forked tongue out) and each head was wearing a "Tasty Tacos: once you go Tasty, you'll never go back!" hat. The hats appeared to be more an outgrowth of the head than a hat.

The square was empty within seconds leaving only me, a six-headed killing machine and the taxi driver. It looked like the taxi driver hadn't moved at all.

"Do something!" I yelled.

"I do nothing without payment," the driver said.

At that point, I said some things to him that I would definitely not want my mother to hear. Finally I dug out the card that the truck driver had given me and threw it to him. He caught it and the card turned fizzy and morphed into a giant, bronze sword. Suddenly all six heads turned and looked straight at the taxi guy.

"Ah, good payment," he said.

A hydra head struck at the driver, forcing him to jump with superhuman speed out of the way.

"Wow," I said. "That was fast."

He grabbed his side, a brown liquid was leaking through his fingers. "Not fast enough," he said.

"You're an automaton?" I asked.

"One of Hephaestus's best," he said, dodging a jet of Hydra poison. He moved to a point where the cab was between the monster and him and then used it as a blinder to surprise the monster.

During my life I had had a lot of time to think while mom and dad were off saving the world and teaching classes. One thing I had thought a lot about was strategies for fighting different monsters. I knew exactly what I wanted to do if I ever met a Hydra. You see, anyone fighting a Hydra has a big problem, namely that if you chop off a head, you have to burn it within a couple seconds or else it regrows as two heads. However, most monsters disintegrate with any cut from Celestial Bronze, so I figured the way to go was distract the monster and cut at its gut.

That was exactly what the taxi driver, automaton guy did; he ran out from behind the taxi and before the Hydra could figure out what was going on he was up against the side of the monster's gut. He wasted no time in thrusting the sword into the monster's side.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the hilt of the sword fell out of its own accord. Deadly green acid poured from the wound and quickly melted the legs of the taxi driver. The closest head whipped down and sent the man flying like a baseball and two more heads hit it with acid with deadly precision. Within seconds, the taxi driver was no more.

"Hey, Alex, we got you a HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THAT?" Jayzon said as he and Airiana exited the Tasty Taco store.

"A Hydra," I said, twirling my gladius out. "Spread out." It was my turn.

Jayzon and Airiana dropped their food and pulled their own weapons. For a while the Hydra didn't know what to do. Finally, it decided that _Goliath _was the biggest threat and focused its attention on Airiana. She dodged an acid shot with ease and charged the beast, slicing off a head with a gorgeous slice. Within seconds the severed neck bubbled and split forming two new Hydra heads complete with the Tasty Tacos hat.

"Ugh, got to love that new monster head smell," Jayzon said.

"Airiana, it's a Hydra," I said. "The heads grow back!"

"Thanks for telling me!" she said. "A little late you know!"

"Just keep it distracted," I said, putting away my sword. I had just gotten a crazy idea. Airiana rolled to the monster's right and stumbled getting back up, slipping on the flooding pool which used to be the fountain. Thank the gods she did. Jayzon had fired an arrow at a head but he missed and it flew in front of the monster and would have hit Airiana right between the eyes if she had stood up.

"Hey, watch it!" she screamed.

"Sorry," Jayzon screamed. The monster spit acid at both of them.

"Jayzon, you got something to blind it?" I asked. He saluted me and rolled behind a bench. The bench met a sad ending a few seconds later as a Hydra head smashed it to bits and Jayzon jumped onto the head and fired an arrow straight into its neck. Jayzon jumped as far away as he could and we all watched to see what would happen.

The neck sagged and swayed as it died, then it turned to dust above the arrow. For a moment I thought we had discovered a way to kill it, but soon the neck split below the arrow and three new heads appeared.

"Um, let's not do that again," I said. "How 'bout that blinder now?"

"Right," Jayzon said from behind me. An arrow flew over my head and impaled the ground right in front of the monster. Thick, black smoke poured from the arrow, engulfing the monster and soon the entire square.

I made my move as the smoke began to clear. Monsters have notoriously bad vision and demigods have noticeably better than normal vision so I was able to see again long before the monster could even think about it. The monster had turned around and had its back to me. I prayed to Hera that I would remain silent (smoke didn't affect a monster's hearing) and ran toward the monster. Apparently she heard me because the monster didn't move, and I was able to spring onto the monster's back.

I've ridden a pegasus in turbulence. It's not fun. You have to really have your wits about you to stay on the horse's back and not fall to your death. Usually I'm pretty good at avoiding getting bucked. However, riding the Hydra was ten times worse. First, the beast was so large that I felt like I was trying to do the splits on flat ground during an earthquake. By the time I had worked my way up to the front of the monster's back, the smoke had cleared and the Hydra was very aware of my presence. Still, it couldn't fry me with acid because it would fry itself and I kept low to the monster to ensure it couldn't try to bite me. All it could do was roll over, and I hoped it wasn't smart enough figure that out.

I squirmed up to the base of the monsters necks and got out _Sabertooth._ The monster jerked back at the appearance of more Celestial Bronze and I smiled. "Die you oversized, slimy lump of acidic coal," I screamed as I cleanly sliced all nine necks off at the base. Suddenly the entire monster turned to dust and I fell six feet in a cloud of monster ash.

"Alex!" I heard Airiana scream and soon I found her and Jayzon running up to meet me. Jayzon pulled me up. Jayzon was wearing one of the Tasty Tacos hats.

"Where did you get that hat?" I asked.

"They sell them inside," he said.

"Inside where?" a voice said from above us. I looked up to find three people descending as if they were riding an unfelt wind. The three people landed in the middle of the square. I recognized the one who had spoke as Lily Harper. Christopher Nash stood at her side, wearing a black camo (which I didn't think possible) and had a sword sheathed at his side. Lily was wearing a black spandex shirt and pants and a belt which had a Celestial Bronze machete and several small pieces of metal which I assumed were things thieves used.

"The Tasty Tacos over there," Jayzon said, but even as he said it his voice was trailing off. It didn't take long for me to figure out why: there was nothing but an empty lot where the restaurant once was. "What happened?" he asked.

"It's connected to the Hydra," I said. "When the Hydra died, so did the building."

"Oh," he said. "Are all chain stores connected to Hydras?"

"Yup," Lily said. "Every time it gains a head, another store opens."

"How many heads does the Starbucks Hydra have?" Airiana asked.

"You don't want to know," Lily said.

"Is it over?" a girl said. I had almost forgotten a third person had even landed in the square. She was wearing a black leather jacket over a green camo shirt and baggy camo pants. As she raised her head I was able to see her short, spiky, jet black hair.

"Yes, Thalia," Christopher said mockingly. "We're safely on land."

"You can open your eyes now," Lily said in the same mocking tone.

"Careful you two," Thalia said, finally looking up. "I can kill you both and not leave a trace. Zeus, Alex, you look like shit."

"Nice to see you too," I said, brushing the Hydra dust off my shirt. "What brings you to LA?"

"What?" she asked.

"What brings you out here?" I asked again.

"I'm on a quest, you idiot," she said. "Perhaps you forgot I had promised to rescue your mother."

"Oh, right, I had forgotten," I said. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know where the entrance to the Underworld is would you?"


	13. Immortality Has Its Downsides

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, Joseph A. Bank.

A/N: Many thanks to PerMaXAnFan, JeLynnn, and Harajukuqueen for adding my story and to PerMaXAnFan for reviewing.

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Immortality Has Its Downsides<p>

Eventually, Thalia got over the fact that I had allowed the taxi to get fried by Hydra poison, (honestly, how could she possibly think that was my fault?) and started to lead the six of us down the street toward downtown Los Angeles. I suggested that we "borrow" a car but she said we'd travel faster by foot.

"So where have you been" she asked. We told her where we had been; the train, the problem in Tulsa, the chimera, the junkyard, the meeting with different gods across the country. The entire time, Thalia was watching us with a look that was almost envy. Finally we talked about the taxi ride and the battle with the Hydra.

"And then you all showed up," Jayzon said.

"How about you?" I said, turning a corner. "What took you so long?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, which I wasn't sure how I could tell considering she wasn't facing me. Maybe it was the Hera super-mom powers. "We started in New York," she said, "looking for the Door of Orpheus."

"I thought it would be the fastest way in," Christopher said.

"The quickest way in would have been to go alone," Thalia said, but not loud enough for Christopher to hear. "Anyway," she continued, "we had Argus drop us off at Central Park and then I realized I'd made a huge mistake leaving you behind."

"Hey," Christopher said.

"What do you mean," I asked, turning a corner and having downtown come into view.

"The son of the Underworld has no clue how to get into it," Thalia said.

"Get me to Charon, I'll get your from there," Christopher said.

"I was hoping to avoid that walking Joseph A. Bank advertisement," Thalia said. "Point is, we then wasted the whole next day looking for a door we never found. Finally we gave up and headed out of New York."

Thalia turned another corner and cursed in Ancient Greek. In front of us stretched Chinatown, a sea of people (not all of them Chinese or even Asian) shopping stores, both inside and outside of the walls, and further down I could see higher profile theaters and some buildings that I couldn't tell what they were. The mob was not confined to the sidewalks or in front of the vendors. The people weaved in and out of traffic across the street and were at least 12 deep on the sidewalks. "We'll never get through that," Airiana said.

"Oh it's not as bad as you think," Thalia said. "But it will still be faster to go around. Follow me."

"That's kind of what we've been doing," Jayzon said. Thalia ignored him.

"So, how'd you get out of New York," I asked. I still wasn't sure why Thalia listened to me, considering I was a guy. Maybe it was respect for my mother.

"I took a competent person on this quest," Thalia said. "Lily worked her magic and we quickly had a truck full of gas. Getting more gas wasn't an issue either."

"You stole it?" I asked, appalled. This was a Lieutenant of Olympus we were talking about.

"Artemis will bless them far more later," Thalia said, brushing off the comment. "We took off down the Thruway and soon found ourselves on I-80 heading west. That worked great for a while."

"For a while?" I asked.

"The monsters slowed us down in Cleveland," Lily said. "All three kindly ones attacked, but we were able to hold them off in the end. Got our truck though. Split us up too. One of them threw Thalia into Lake Erie."

"I'll bet my grandfather liked that," I said.

"He didn't," Thalia said. "It took me nearly three hours to get out. Mostly because of the sea snake holding me down and all the boats getting steered away from me. Ultimately, I beat the snake and Lily rescued me in a borrowed boat."

"You mean stolen," I said. Thalia ignored me. Jayzon whispered something about knowing how he felt.

"The boat was able to get us as far west as Wisconsin. Lily took care of that," Thalia said. "I thought I saw some monsters try to stop us, but this boat was fast. Poseidon was making it clear he didn't like me though."

"I wonder why," I said. Unfortunately Thalia didn't ignore that one. I was pretty sure there'd be a bruise on my arm for twenty years.

"On the way, I spent some time reminding Ares that he owed me a favor," Thalia continued. "I told him to meet me with some magical transportation west in Wisconsin."

"Wait, you can do that?" Airiana asked.

"Yea, anyone who loses a war owes a debt to Ares, so he's got an army of planes, tanks, trucks and boats at his disposal," Thalia said.

"No, YOU can do that, call out Ares like that. A god?" Airiana said.

Thalia smiled. "Being immortal has its upsides," she said.

"It has its downsides too," Lily said trying not to laugh.

"What do you mean?" Airiana asked.

"Well," Christopher said. "Ares wasn't too happy getting called out by such a _minor_ immortal. And, Ares has spent thirty years learning Thalia's weaknesses. Apparently, she's afraid of heights. Ares greeted us as we pulled into Green Bay and led us to his transportation."

"Let me guess," I said.

"A plane!" Thalia said, clearly still outraged. "A captured Flying Fortress that got shot down while under German control. Even with my dad stilling the winds, the thing fluctuated 248 ft and 5 inches. And there was a hole in the back."

"That exact huh?" Christopher said. "You sure?"

"I'm still a daughter of Zeus," Thalia said. "I may be scared to Hades, but I know what's going on in the air."

"Clearly you weren't scared to Hades, or else you'd be there already," Lily said.

"Ugh, why did I take heroes on this quest?" Thalia asked the air. The sky rumbled in reply.

"Something about this girl we're rescuing wanting them," Christopher said. Lily stopped Thalia, Airiana stopped me. Honestly, Christopher should know my mom's name by now.

We turned into a worse part of town where even the traffic started to ease up. Thalia indicated we were getting close. Lily continued the story. "We flew south and then west toward LA. Most of the flight we spent sleeping since we'd been up for over two days since New York. (Thalia told her to speak for herself, Lily ignored her) I woke up as we were crossing things I knew were in Arizona. That's when things started to go wrong.

"Even I could sense the change in the winds. The plane jerked sideways and the pilot lost control. I thought we were going to get to Hades a little soon, but the plane stayed aloft on the winds. We headed North, but it didn't take us long to figure out where we were going. He was floating over Devil's Tower in Wyoming."

"Who?" Jayzon asked.

"Aeolus, King of the Winds," Thalia said, disgust all over her words. "The entire side of his mountain opened up and swallowed the plane."

"So we told you," Christopher said. "You were still in the fetal position in the back of the plane."

Thalia looked like she was going to kill Christopher, but decided to simply continue the story. "It seems there was a problem with the weather in Florida, Ares wanted Tampa punished for its peace rally but Poseidon wanted good weather because those same people had cleaned the bay and Demeter wanted snow on the entire country which Aeolus said he couldn't do because it would give too much power to the North. I guess, they settled the dispute by Aeolus causing more problems for both me and you."

"Explains the snow yesterday," I said.

Thalia continued. "Then Aeolus indicated he wanted to talk to me, something about a promotion, but he didn't seem to have time for us because Demeter was going off on him. Finally I nicely expressed a desire to leave already-"

"Nicely here meaning an attempt to strangle the god," Lily said.

"-and he seemed to take offense to that and he imprisoned us." Thalia finished.

"How'd you get out?" I asked.

"The winds obey children of Zeus," Thalia said. "I got us out."

"She was quite impressive," Christopher said, which I though was probably taking all the strength he had. I also thought it was saving his life. "She started a tornado inside Aeolus' palace which kind of destroyed everything including the bars holding us it. Some auras led us out the bottom and Thalia followed. The air pushed us out and led us here."

"We're here," Thalia said. I looked up and was staring at the front of a warehouse that said DOA Recording Studios.

"What does DOA stand for anyway?" Jayzon asked. Leave it to him to wonder that. Leave it to Thalia to answer. "Dead On Arrival."

* * *

><p>Inside the door of DOA Recording Studios was a different world (literally). Gone was the quiet bustle of the LA slums, gone was the bustling activity of a Los Angeles day. The inside of the warehouse looked like an airport waiting area, large and full of couches and chairs and was playing terrible music from the 80's. It even had a concession stand which sold carbohydrate full meals that were not any good for you. Even the wi-fi wasn't working, just like a normal airport.<p>

Thalia walked directly up to what appeared to be the front counter and stood impatiently in front of it, starring at the man behind the counter. The man seemed to have no requirement for his wardrobe other than being the most expensive thing possible. He was wearing what appeared to be a five piece suit, complete with top hat, made of leather and was jet black. It looked very uncomfortable. His face was down, but he had chocolate-colored skin and stood tall and elegant, and standing on a pedestal to make himself even taller. When the man looked up I could see his empty eyes, full of death and suffering. I felt myself dying while standing there, as if something inside of me knew that this was the last face I would see above ground.

"Name," the man said smiling.

"The lieutenant of Artemis, which means you, Charon, had better get up and let us across if you know what's good for you," Thalia said.

"Thalia, let me handle this," Christopher pleaded.

"You're handling of situations is why we took so long to get here," Thalia snapped back. Charon seemed to be enjoying himself; like he hadn't seen something this entertaining in centuries. I guess they didn't have reality TV in the Underworld.

Charon continued smiling. "Thalia Grace, where are you?"

"Excuse me?" Thalia said, staggering.

"Where are you right now, Thalia Grace?" Charon repeated.

"The gates to the Underworld," she said.

"Wrong," Charon said. "You are in the Underworld now. Artemis has no power here, and neither do you, Daughter of Zeus. And I have no intention of letting you through."

That's when Thalia got angry. She puffed herself up, and grew at least a foot until she was eye to eye with the man. To his credit, he didn't back down. "Charon, Hades is being accepted now. His children are at Camp Half-blood. He's even allowed on Olympus once in a while. I'm sure that he'd treat the man who ruined that really great, Charon. I'm sure he'd give him a raise and all that stuff. I'm sure he wouldn't throw you in Tartarus and replace you with Nico Di Angelo."

That got Charon angry. He turned his head and his eyes seemed to get even more painful. The temperature in the room dropped 20 degrees. Darkness seemed to emanate from him as he spoke. "Do not bring that upstart into this, Thalia Grace," he said. We all shrunk back. "I will not be letting you in, no matter the threat you can come up with. You have no idea what Hades would do if I let an immortal inside. He gets angry enough when I let heroes in."

"We have a lot of money," I said. That seemed to get his attention. The darkness receded and the temperature started to rise.

"You think I'm one to be bribed kid?" Charon asked.

"Well, you have been before," I said.

Charon grinned. "True, Alexander Jackson. Your father paid me a nice sum. Unfortunately, Hades punished me by cutting my salary, so I really didn't come off any better now did I? Sorry kid, not happening again."

"I'll speak for them," a man said in the corner of the room. Truth be told, I never even saw him. Yet when he stood, there was a quiet power emanating from him. Charon even seemed scared, like ignoring this man was ten times worse than ignoring Hades or even Zeus.

"You can't possibly speak for this one," Charon said, pointing to Thalia.

"This one," the man said, coming closer to us and pointing to Airiana, "is mine, and I don't think she's going anywhere without the others so I will claim them all."

"That is not the agreement," Charon said, but he knew it was a losing battle.

"It is not your place to question me about this," the man said.

Silence came next, and I could tell Charon had some history with this man, but he ultimately sighed and said, "They can get on the next ferry."

We all followed the man back to his corner. It looked like he had been there a long time. There was a cozy little corner with a few coats stacked next to the chair and a little extra cushion sitting on the chair. He offered the chair to us, and Christopher immediately sat down. The other spirits congregated in this corner. There was a small radio for entertainment and the spirits were all listening to it. The spirits were not reacting at the same time, almost as if each was hearing a different station.

The man was middle eastern, but pale as if he'd been here a long time, and he seemed more alive than others in the room. His eyes were sky blue and emitted a calm happiness that invaded my very being and restored my hope, even in the middle of the Underworld. As he stood next to Christopher, his short height was emphasized. He seemed vaguely familiar, like I should know this person, but just couldn't place him.

Then something happened I never expected: Thalia bowed to him.

"Thalia Grace, there is no need for that," he said as if he were talking to his own daughter.

"Who are you?" Airiana asked as Thalia rose.

"Airiana Wilson, remember back when you first arrived at Camp Half-Blood," he said, turning his attention to her. "Back then, Winston told you that Camp doesn't deal with the metaphysical, big-G God, the ruler of the universe."

"Right," she said. "He mentioned that was the Olympian's job."

"Are you sure you don't want something?" Thalia asked. The man gave her some money for 7 hot dogs. Thalia went off.

"Correct, the Olympians take dealing with me very seriously," the man said.

"You're Jesus," I said.

"That's one of my names," he said.

"But aren't you supposed to be ruling the universe?" I asked.

"I am," he said.

"But you're here," I said.

"Yes," he said. "Don't try to think about it. I'm metaphysical, alive and completely in both places at once. I sense one day you'll begin to understand, but until then, don't dwell on it. You'll need your wit about you if you'll survive down there."

"Wait," Airiana said. "What do you mean 'survive down there.' Don't you speak for me down there too?"

"No," Jesus said gently. "I speak for you here. You'll get across the river. And I'll do it again if you die. But when you stand before judgement, all I can do is stand beside you. Support you. I cannot speak for you. Don't worry though, the judges will look upon you favorably. Ah, thank you Thalia. Tell Artemis hello for me."

"Of course," Thalia said as Charon approached the group and Jesus handed out the hot dogs.

"Ferry's leaving," he said.

"Well, looks like our time is done. I'll get the hot dogs back to camp for you," Jesus said before wishing us well (which I figured was pretty good) and sending us all into the elevator at the back of the lobby.

"You don't like him," I said to Charon as the doors closed and we began to go down.

"I like him," Charon said. "He doesn't just speak for Christian fares. He actually pays for them. Zeus just expects me to ferry his children across for free." He paused then added "I'd take payment from you now though if you'd like."

"Um. I'll just put in a good word for you to Hades," I said. I was starting to get freaked out since we had begun crossing the Styx and Charon was turning into his ghoul form. I wondered if making a promise while physically ON the River Styx was the same as swearing on the River Styx. There goes the ADHD again. The River Styx was a clear river, but it was hardly calm. There was a strong current, that Charon's ferry seemed to cut over rather than through, and floating in the river were dolls, diplomas, wedding rings, money, model houses, purple togas and cloaks: all the hopes and dreams which people had thrown away as they crossed the river.

We sat in silence until the boat docked on the far side of the Styx. The walls of the Underworld rose in the distance, haunted by the screams coming from the Fields of Punishment. I took a deep breath and grabbed Airiana's hand.

"Well," she said, not letting my hand go. "On to Hades."

A/N: I think it may be necessary to make an aside here. The fact that the metaphysical "big-G" God is a part of the PJO world (I also will note that I am using the Christian God as the big-G God) has always stuck out to me. I wanted to play with this notion. Although I try to be as truthful as possible to Christianity in general, what comes in this story is not my beliefs nor is it "traditional Christian belief," nor do all Christians believe the same thing anyway. Please do not get offended by anything mentioned about God in this story.


	14. Hades Has A Strange Definition of Easy

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, or Nerf, or Cerberus. But I wish I did...

A/N: Merry Christmas (and Happy Holidays for all who are not Christian. I still hope you have a merry day on December 25, Christian or not...)! A Christmas present for you all. This chapter is dedicated to my mother who turned 29 (looks around for any who would challenge that...good no one) on December 8th and I was too busy planning the rest of this storyline (and something about finals) so I didn't get a chapter out for her birthday. Happy birthday Mom!

Many thanks to NeptuneRox for adding my story.

No reviews :-( Oh well :-)

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: Hades Has A Strange Definition of Easy<p>

"The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall, which marched off in either direction as far as we could see."* I remembered my father's words (through that Rick guy, great guy that Rick), but he really didn't do the Underworld justice. The beach was huge, much larger than I imagined. The volcanic sand did march off as far as I could see, and I could see a long way: at least 10 miles in each direction. All along the sand were the prints of monsters as they left the Underworld. and a few humans, dead and alive. I figured if I kept going far enough I would run into Nico and my father's footsteps from when he took a dip in the River Styx. I still never did understand how my dad lost that curse.

The dead who had traveled with us on the ferry were getting off and joining the lines heading into the underworld. There was a large gate in the wall. The wall was jet black and wasn't just "high" like my dad said, I couldn't see the top. Lily said that might make getting out problematic, that Christopher hadn't mentioned that when she was planning. Chris said that they build on year by year. The gate was about fifty yards wide and arch shaped. There were three "lines" going into the gate, but two were single file while the middle one spanned the rest of the arch. The two single file lines were marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY while the middle mob-way was marked EZ-DEATH. I knew that the ez-death line led straight to the fields of Asphodel while the others led to judgment. I wasn't worried about the judgment pavilion yet, I just wanted to get inside first.

"Ok, Christopher," Thalia said, "Scene's all yours."

"Seems simple enough," Christopher said. "Just walk through the quick line and into the Underworld."

"Um, problem with that," I said. "Three headed dog in the way."

"I don't see a dog," Christopher said.

A dog growled nearby. I should talk about Old Three Face. Cerberus is a three headed rottweiler who is thin as a spirit and often invisible to the living. He is also a giant dog, the six to seven foot spirits easily walking under his legs as he stands guard in the archway gate to the underworld. He's the biggest hellhound and one of the most difficult monsters to beat, if it is even possible. Heroes have gotten past him in many ways, but I was beginning to notice a problem. Our plan to get past the dog was Christopher being able to do it. But Christopher didn't see anything; he didn't know the dog was there. I was beginning to wonder if Chris had ever been to the Underworld at all.

"What do you mean 'I don't see a dog'?" Thalia said, turning on Christopher.

"I believe that statement is self explanatory," Christopher said.

"THERE IS ALWAYS A DOG!" Thalia said.

"Careful Thalia," I said. "You're starting to glow and we can't take immortal forms."

"I am not immortal and I can control it so it only kills Christopher," Thalia said.

"Why are you so upset?" Christopher asked.

"I dragged you along to get me into the Underworld. Have you ever even been here?" Thalia asked.

"Uh, not exactly, um physically," Christopher said. "Dad never contacted me and I had no interest in starting the conversation."

"So a plan to get past the dog, do we have one?" Jayzon asked.

"Do we ever have a plan?" I asked.

"Good point."

"Well, we've got six people and he's got three heads, maybe we can catch him in his blind spot," I said.

"Can you see him?" Airiana asked.

"No," I said.

"Neither can I," she said. "So how do we know when we're in its blind spot?"

"Good point."

Lily sighed. "Let's just go," she said. She walked up to the gate and got into the ez-death line. Airiana started to follow but I quickly held her back. Lily approached the metal detectors sitting in front of the gate. As soon as she passed through the detector sirens went off and a voice blared from the detectors "Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!" Lily laughed and pulled her belt off. The belt was a small chain belt, interlocking and bronze colored. As soon as it cleared her clothes it transformed into a small, curved, Celestial Bronze sword. "Yup, magic," she said, brandishing it at the guards converging. "Anyone want a taste?"

The guards stopped. Lily started to say something sarcastic when she was lifted off the ground by something and sent flying several yards before hitting the wall with enough force that I was surprised she didn't dent it. She fell to the base of the wall and didn't move.

"Lily!" Chris said, sprinting to Lily's side. He knelt down beside her and touched her before relaxing. "Alive," he said.

"Still think there's no dog?" I asked.

"No," Christopher said. "He's going to pay for that."

"That's more like it," Thalia said as we all pulled our weapons.

The guards woke at the sight of Celestial Bronze and charged. Christopher swung a Stygian Iron sword, about a foot and a half in length, straight through one of the guards. There were still 10 more, armed with military weapons from several different centuries. Christopher had taken out the Marine with an M-16 (the gun disappeared with him) but the other 10 were not stopping.

We were split up in seconds. Airiana and I stood back to back with _Goliath _and _Sabertooth _out and ready. A Roman Legionnaire charged me first with a gladius of his own. I let him get close, deflected his blade to the side and stabbed the ribs of his skeletal body, rolling to the other side. An Egyptian in Greek armor charged with a sword way too big for him and I easily deflected him, sending the sword flying into the ATTENDANT ON DUTY line, vaporizing a couple of spirits. I turned back to Airiana and the world froze.

Airiana was fighting two guards (more were flooding in through the gate) but that wasn't what was crushing my heart. The roman I had stabbed and apparently missed was in mid swing with his sword behind Airiana. Time seemed to slow as the gladius came down toward her head, where even my dad's armor wouldn't help her. Time stopped as I watched the kill blow.

"NO!" I shouted when I had snapped out of the trance. I ran toward Airiana, even though I didn't stand a chance of getting there. That's when I felt the tug at my gut. The gladius shimmered in the cold air and in a nanosecond the Roman was swinging a Nerf baseball bat. The bat hit Airiana in the back of her head as she killed the first of the guards in front of her. I arrived as she turned around and I stabbed the Roman in the side of the head, making sure I didn't miss this time. The guard dissolved into dirt and fell. Airiana quickly finished off the other guard she was fighting. A new one charged us but it quickly sprouted an arrow from its skull and dissolved into dust.

Thalia was on a roll, sending about twenty guards to the ground by herself. The remaining guards began to retreat away from us, allowing us to all to breathe again. Then we figured out why they were backing away.

"Should we be able to see him so clearly?" Jayzon asked, walking back up to the group, picking up his arrows along the way. I turned to where Jayzon was looking and knew we were not out of trouble yet. Cerberus was standing 10 yards away, growling at us. "Nice doggy," Jayzon said.

Cerberus growled.

"Go," Airiana yelled. We all obeyed. Thalia went around left, Jayzon to the right, both shooting everything they could at the dog. But the arrows either went right through him or he knocked them out of the air with his side heads. Airiana and I followed Thalia and Jayzon and tried to split the attention of one of the heads but he seemed to have an unnatural ability to see everything going on. Plus, I wasn't about to try and get close enough to stab a ten-foot tall rottwheiler with a foot-long sword. Airiana was having a little more luck. She had put _Goliath _away and was trying to control the spirits and get them to distract Cerberus. It was working too. There was even a 7ft something spirit who was giving the dog a belly rub. It gave me an idea: maybe Chris and Airiana could control Cerberus.

But I never got a chance to suggest it. Cerberus crouched to pounce, smashing a dozen spirits under his behind, and shot forward like a cannon. His back legs kicked out and caught Thalia and Jayzon in the chest. Thalia managed to get a swing in with her bow but it wasn't enough to send the dog packing. The front legs were aimed at Airiana and me. Airiana didn't see it quick enough, but several spirits jumped in front of her, saving her at the cost of their souls. I rolled forward, the paw scratching my back but leaving me relatively unharmed. I bounced up and jumped out behind the dog, deflecting the tail with the flat of my sword. "_I'm through, Go" _crossed my mind for a brief second, but I knew I couldn't leave Airiana and the others behind. I turned around.

Christopher seemed to have summoned his own hellhounds to defend against Cerberus' charge; though how he got that kind of power was beyond me. Even Nico struggled to summon beasts that powerful. Still, Cerberus made easy work of the smaller, elephant sized monster and turned his attention back to Christopher. Thalia moved around next to me behind the beast. Airiana was on the other side of me, checking for vitals on Jayzon, who appeared to have hit the gate and was laying crumpled next to a magic detector. I quickly hit myself (mentally) for not worrying about him. How could I forget about my best friend?

"Go," Thalia said. "You're through, go. We'll distract him."

"No," I said. "Not without everyone."

"My quest was doomed from the start. You go on," she said.

"No," I repeated.

"Hey, ugly brute!" Christopher yelled. It took a bit for me to realize he was talking about the dog. "Over here!" Christopher backed up a few steps and took off down the sandy beach yelling insults over his shoulder. Cerberus took a few breaths but eventually followed after Chris called him "pretty little puppy."

I relaxed; Thalia lowered her bow. I sheathed _Sabertooth _and slipped off my backpack. It had been torn pretty good when Cerberus hit my back, but the Ambrosia was in the side pocket so it was still easy to find. Only a couple of bites were enough to wake Jayzon and get him speaking English again.

"Look out!" he screamed before realizing there was no danger anymore. "What happened?" he asked.

"You flew, just like you always wanted to," I said.

"Told you I would," he said, grimacing while trying to move his shoulder.

"Now we go," Thalia asked.

"Not without Lily," I said.

"Where is she?" Airiana asked. She was standing just past the wall, on the beach looking where Lily was paralyzed. I let Jayzon go and went over next to her. Sure enough, the base of the wall was empty, no Lily for as far as we could see.

I exchanged a look with Thalia. "On then?" she asked. I nodded.

* * *

><p>The Fields of Asphodel looked exactly as I had dreamed them to be. Literally. We were standing against the wall, several yards from the gate just in case Cerberus came back. Fields of trampled grass spread on forever, emanating in front of us in all directions. Screams echoed from the Fields of Punishment somewhere to our left and the soft music from the Isles of the Blest gently reached our ears from the right. But the largest portion of the Underworld spread out around everything else, vast fields of nothing. The spirit of a man in his mid forties walked up to me and began talking, but all I heard was indistinct clattering. Soon he gave up and walked away.<p>

"So depressing," Airiana said.

"The Underworld," Thalia said. "Everything we have to look forward to."

"Not everything," I said. "We'll get to Elysium."

"So, where do we go now?" Jayzon asked.

"There," I said, pointing to Hades' Castle. The Castle was huge, black and flickering with firelight. A soft glow emanated from a small corner where Persephone's garden must grow. If I was correct, she was here now, tending it.

"Hey, what happened back there," Thalia asked as we started off across the field, straight toward the castle.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Back there when we were fighting Cerberus," she said. "That Roman was going to kill Airiana before..." She trailed off.

"Before what?" Airiana asked.

"Before I yelled 'no!' and his sword turned into a child's play toy," I said. "Honestly, I have no idea."

"But you did it, didn't you?" Thalia asked.

"I think so. I felt power leave me, but..." I said.

"But what?" Thalia asked.

"But we're talking about transfiguration here. Half the gods can't do that," I said. "I can't figure out how I did."

"Maybe a god blessed you," Airiana said.

"No," Thalia said. "This is Hades' realm; the other gods can't do anything here unless invited."

"Which doesn't happen often," I said.

"Which doesn't happen ever," Thalia corrected. "But you're right, that kind of power..."

"I know," I said.

"Well, Hera is one of the most powerful gods right?" Airiana said.

"We don't honestly know," Thalia said. "She acts behind the scenes most times, pulling the strings. I don't know if she has ever needed to show her powers. Keep working on that, Winston. It might come in handy."

"My name is Alex," I said.

"Of course it is," Thalia said, smiling. "Uh oh, problem 12 o'clock." I looked and sure enough three figures were leaping up from the castle.

"Kindly ones," I said. "They've spotted us."

"What now?" Jayzon said.

"There, hide in the pavilion," I said, pointing to the nearest thing. We rushed off to the Judgment Pavilion and ducked inside just as the Kindly ones flew over our heads.

The Judgment Pavilion was not anything like I thought it would be. We had entered a large room with high walls and a large bench on one end with three figures sitting behind it; like the largest court room I had ever seen. The three figures were all wearing golden masks which seemed to be smiling down straight at me. I grabbed Airiana's hand and we stepped forward.

"Hello, godlings," the man in the middle said. The voice sounded strangely familiar. I put it behind me though, people's voices all sound similar to somebody else and most immortal begins appear or sound different to other people. "Welcome to the Underworld. My name is Minos, the King of Ghosts. This is Daedalus and Andrew Jackson," he said pointing to his left and right respectively.

"Andrew Jackson?" Airiana asked.

"You've heard of me?" the man to Minos' right said.

"No," Airiana said.

"Really?" he said. "I was the seventh President of the United States, son of Ares and hero of the War of 1812."

"In 1814," I said. "And the war was over. That should be murder. You should be in the Fields of Punishment."

"Who are you?" he asked.

I smiled. "Alexander Jackson," I said, emphasizing Alexander.

"I will enjoy judging your life," the dead Jackson said. "But the time for that is, regrettably, not yet at hand."

"Then what time is at hand?" Thalia asked.

Minos smiled. "Oh, you'll be judged, but not by us. Hades has asked us to escort you personally to his headquarters. He has been expecting you."

"He has?" I asked.

"Yes, he wishes to speak with you. That's why it was so easy for you to get in here," Minos said.

"Easy?" Jayzon said, stretching his aching back. "You call that easy?"

*The quote from page 290 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.


	15. Mother Knows Best

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, La-z-boy, or Clue.

A/N: Many thanks to VidielSilverbane for adding my story and to Dani9513 for reviewing. I love history too and agree that Ares just fit. And yes, all those judges are shady at best…

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Mother Knows Best<p>

I was standing at THE Judgment Pavilion, the place where every soul's FINAL Judgment happened. I should have been terrified. I should have been trying to figure out what was happening in that moment. My thoughts should have stayed in the here and now.

But they didn't. Instead I was thinking about the one thing which I had been fighting the whole trip; the one thing that kept rearing its ugly head when I didn't want it to. "_You shall go west, and face the god who has turned...You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned...You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend...And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end._"* My father's first quest.

When I had heard the prophecy of Thalia's quest, the similarities had stuck out to me like a sore thumb. When Thalia didn't choose me for the quest, I thought that it might have been a good thing. That's why I set out on my own later. Thalia's prophecy said she would "_fail to get back what was taken_." If she was going to fail, I might be able to pick up the slack.

But I wasn't so sure now. My father had gone on his quest to save his mother from the underworld. He had failed right here. I believe in history repeating itself and here I stood trying to rescue my mother from the underworld with a prophecy that said I would fail. All trip I had told myself _Thalia _would fail, I would succeed. But now, as I walked, chained to Thalia, Jayzon and Airiana toward the location of my father's failure, I wasn't so sure. Thalia's prophecy had mentioned two groups of three, the second going "in a hero's 'stead." Now, the original three was down to one, Thalia, and she was not a hero anymore; she was a Hunter. A hero's 'stead: an absence of a hero. Airiana, Jayzon and I were here in Christopher and Lily's place. Thalia's prophecy was mine.

And therefore, I would fail to get back what was taken. I would fail, like my father before me, to rescue my mother from the Underworld. As I saw Hades' dark, black castle looming in the distance, I was surer of it than ever.

But I wasn't going to let her go without a fight. I was still a Jackson, and in many ways I was better than my father. Even though I didn't have Athena's wisdom, I still had Annabeth's and that had to account for something. There were many times that I really did think my dad's head was filled with seaweed. I knew the stories like the back of my hand. I had studied them all my life. I had run through every situation in the stories and asked "what would I do then?" I had it all figured out. I was the greatest demigod of my age, and no self-serving queen of the gods, giving me her week powers was going to prevent that!

But there was still the problem of being chained to three other people with all of our weapons taken from us and being led to Hades' Castle for an audience with the Lord of the Dead.

The Furies swooped down and landed on the two-story-tall bronze gates as we passed into the castle. The gates were carved with scenes of death through the centuries. Near the top I could see ancient battles with chariots, triremes and hordes of infantry meeting on the battlefield. One intriguing one showed a small width of land with 300 people fighting hundreds of thousands of Persians. Another showed a man standing in front of a large group of travelers while a tsunami wiped away a large army with chariots. A little ways down, Romans appeared, a whole legion of soldiers fighting against a small fortress atop a steep cliff in the desert. I knew that Roman legions had eagles on their equivalent of modern flagpoles. I noticed this one was missing. Near the base, a mission I recognized from my trip to Texas was being overrun while the defenders fought to the death, a group of soldiers in gas masks were pulling themselves over the side of a trench, an atomic bomb was going off over a massive city, and planes were flying into buildings which looked eerily familiar. There were images below these which I didn't want to think about.

Inside the gates stood the source of the strange glow I had seen outside. Persephone's garden was bright and beautiful with precious stones littering the grounds surrounded by beautiful, blooming flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors. Stone statues were sprinkled here and there for effect and small trees grew strategically. In the center of the garden stood an orchard of fresh pomegranates begging to be eaten and thus trap us forever in the Underworld.

"It's beautiful," Airiana said.

"Your mother's doing," Thalia said.

"Mom did this?" Airiana asked, awed.

"Probably in a few seconds," Thalia said.

"More movement, less chatter," one of the furies said from above our head.

The next moment found us in a hall of polished bronze which reflected the torchlight eerily from the walls. There were several hallways leading off from the entryway, each guarded by a skeleton in some form of military gear. Every nation in Europe was represented somewhere, from Greece to Rome to Spain to Turkey to England to Germany. Two United States Marines stood guard by the large double doors at the end of the hallway. I guessed that the throne room stood beyond those.

The furies swooped down and personally took over our escort from the three judges (who were supposedly on shift change). One of them gave me an evil smile as if torturing me was going to be the most fun thing she had done since they invented whips. I guessed she was the fury who had taught my father algebra and who my father had cut in half with a sword.

As the furies pulled the four of us forward, the two guards parted and the giant doors opened on their own to display a giant throne room. The room was ornate with a large space for additional chairs stretched in front of two giant thrones. Each throne stood at least 6 feet off the floor just to reach the seat and at least 12 feet to the top. The first throne was made of what appeared to be human bones, interwoven and fused together to form a solid base. The second throne was made of tightly woven vines and flowers which budded in several different colors around the edges.

Each throne was occupied as well. Hades lounged upon the throne of bones. Hades was easily 10 feet tall and not too muscular. He was albino pale and seemed disinterested in the party entering his throne room. However, he radiated a strong power like he could make the molecules inside your body boil and melt painfully and enjoy every minute of it. Of course, he could and would enjoy it too. He was dressed in his customary robe made from quilted souls of the really terrible people from history. I wondered if Adolf Hitler was in there somewhere, considering he was Hades' son and all.

Persephone also radiated a sting power, but it felt different. It was kinder, gentler. Her aura reminded us that she could do anything she wanted, but it didn't make me think of my death quite as quickly. She was wearing a bright dress that seemed to be flashing every color in the rainbow in all places at the same time. Her eyes sparkled from her wrinkle-free flushed skin, their color complementing but not matching the dress. Vines seemed to grow and wilt along her arms as she smiled down at her daughter while simultaneously scowling at me. How gods can do that was still beyond me.

"Why are these demigods in chains?" Hades asked.

"They are prisoners, my Lord," one of the furies said. "You told us to bring them to you."

"I wanted to see them, but my daughter is never a prisoner here," Hades said. "Unchain them and then please, sit down," he said, directing the last comment to us while creating four La-z-boys facing the thrones. Next to them, the chairs seemed like a tug boat following the Titanic. Err, Olympic. We don't mention those other two ships.

"Lord Hades, not that I'm complaining but, shouldn't you be torturing Airiana? Why are you treating her so nicely," I said.

"She is my daughter," he said.

"She's Persephone's daughter," I said. "If she's yours too, then she would be a…god?"

"No. There is much you do not know child," Hades said to me. "But Persephone's daughter is my daughter too. I treat her as family."

"But you sent all those monsters after us," I said.

Hades gave me a questioning look. "Monsters? I sent no monsters at you. Believe me, if I wanted you dead, you would be."

"But she cheated on you," Thalia said. "That's why Airiana is even here."

"And how many times, _young _Lieutenant, have I cheated on her?" Hades asked. "I am not my brother, I do not blame her. He was actually very good looking."

"Until you got hold of him," Persephone said.

"Um, on to business then?" Hades said hastily.

"Wait," Airiana said. I expected her to get vaporized, but Hades just shot her a warning look. She ignored it, I knew I liked her. "You put my father in a wheelchair? You did that to him?"

"Before I knew he was your father," Hades said. "Now then, down to business. You may come out now," he said. Another la-z-boy appeared next to the thrones as a side door opened and my mother stepped out. She appeared to be very well rested and in good shape. She walked confidently out and took a seat in the chair.

"Mom!" I shouted, springing up from my chair and running toward her.

Hades snapped his fingers. Immediately I felt like a hook had grabbed me in the back and pulled me flush to my chair. "Sit," Hades said.

"Release her!" I yelled.

"Your mother is not a prisoner here," Hades said. "But she is a hostage."

"What do you want?" I said with as much sarcasm as I could.

"Information," Hades said.

"There is information you can't get?" I asked.

"Yes," Hades said. "But you can."

"How?"

"Someone is blocking me, but they might not suspect heroes."

"How can someone block a god?" Thalia asked, suddenly interested in the conversation. She had been noticeably yawning until now.

"That is something I don't know," Hades said, "but it is not what I want you to find out. That has to do with Ms. Chase here."

"Jackson," my mother said.

"Excuse me?" Hades said.

"My name is Jackson," my mother said. "I sent you an invitation to the wedding."

"I do not recognize the existence of Percy Jackson," Hades said. "Therefore you could not have married him." My mother rolled her eyes.

"What information do you want?" I asked.

Hades sighed and Persephone gave him an encouraging pat on the back. Hades nodded. "Someone is interfering in my kingdom," he said.

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked.

"The hellhound that was sent to your camp was not sent by me," Hades said. "But it did come from the Underworld. Someone either called it or sent it."

"To abduct my mother," I said. "Who is in your custody. Why should I believe you?"

"I'm not sure that it was sent to abduct your mother," Hades said. "As I recall, you pushed this young lady out of its way," he said, pointing to Airiana. "I found your mother a couple hours later, unguarded and looking for a way out. I don't think she was the one they were after."

"How would someone get a hellhound out of here?" Thalia asked.

"That is what you must find out: who did it and how," Hades said.

"My money's on Colonel Mustard, in the Kitchen with the Lead Pipe," Jayzon said. Everyone stared at him. "What? Who did it and how. Never mind."

"Find that out and I will send your mother back to camp on the next Hades express," Hades said.

"And if we fail," I said. Hades only smiled.

"Alex, please just think about-" my mother started.

"Annabeth, be careful," Hades said. "Sitting here you could be considered our agent. Interference has consequences from this side."

"Perhaps," Persephone said. "Perhaps the best clues are what is not seen that should be." Hades flashed a warning before nodding in agreement.

"What does that mean?" Thalia asked.

"It means we should look for what is missing," Airiana said. Persephone and Hades both beamed at her. "Or what has changed."

"Well, you look different," Thalia said. I looked at Airiana. She did seem to look different. She was paler than she had been, her cheeks had sunk in, her nose was more defined and her eyes were settling in on the darker colors in the spectrum.

"What do you mean?" Airiana asked.

"It's just different," I said.

"Well, I am a daughter of Persephone," she said. "Maybe I change when coming down here too."

"Maybe," I said. I was having a thought but I didn't want to voice such a crazy idea. I sent a glance at Thalia and suddenly got another idea.

"Uncle," I said to Hades. "When you send hellhounds out, how do you do it?"

"Hellhounds can be sent by someone here or called from above by one of my agents," Hades said. "Neither of which happened here."

"But," Thalia said.

"Right," I said. "A rogue could have sent or called the hellhound that abducted my mother."

"Or both," Thalia said. "There could have been two involved."

"Right," I said. "And there is another clue."

"What is that?" Airiana asked.

"What's not here that should be," I said. "Or rather who."

"Christopher and Lily," Thalia said. "They both ran rather than come into the Underworld."

"That's who were looking for. Christopher could have called the beast and Lily could have snuck in and sent it," I said.

"Christopher did say that she would know how to get out of the Underworld," Thalia said. "Maybe she had personal experience."

"Speaking of getting out of here," Jayzon said. "Could we get some help with that o great and wonderful Uncle?"

"Of course," Hades said. He stuck out his arm as if he was grabbing a cup or perhaps a sword or staff.

We all waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing happened and it only took a few seconds for the gods to react. "Alecto!" Hades said. "Go get my sword and bring it to me."

"Yes, Lord Hades," the fury said. She flew off over the wall and disappeared.

"Your sword is missing?" Thalia asked. "You seem to have great difficulty holding onto that thing."

"I'm not afraid of Artemis, Lieutenant," Hades said. "Just try me."

The fury's return stopped Thalia's retort which was probably good since she was fast on her way to becoming a gold bar or a living skeleton. Alecto had returned empty handed.

"Where is the sword?" Hades asked.

"The safe is empty my Lord," Alecto said. "And broken. Someone has stolen your sword."

"WHAT!" Hades said, beginning to glow.

"Close your eyes!" I yelled. I hoped everyone followed suit.

"Lord Hades, please, the mortals," Persephone said, sounding disinterested. "It is safe my friends."

I opened my eyes. Hades was still very angry, but at least he wasn't glowing anymore. "You stole it," he said to my mother.

"Impossible," Persephone said. "She has been in that computer room for the past two days reading. She could not have done it."

"But then," he said.

"Yes," she said. "Your son could use it and the child of Hermes could take it."

Hades snapped his fingers again and ropes appeared around Thalia's hands, arms, legs, feet and mouth before she was lifted into the air and flew toward the back wall. "I will keep Thalia and your mother," Hades said to me. "Find my son and sword and you'll get them both back. Fail and I will ensure their death is horrible."

"I'll find them," I said, giving one last look at my mother. "I promise."

Hades and Persephone disappeared with Thalia and my mother. The chairs also disappeared and we all fell to the floor. The furies flew off, leaving our weapons which we quickly collected.

"So, um how do we get out," Jayzon asked.

"Airiana, Persephone has a rose which allows travel out or the Underworld. Do you think?" I said.

"Always have the solutions don't you supermom," she said. Airiana took out her magical seed bag, closed her eyes and reached in, pulling out three small seeds. She opened her hand and a small green stem grew from each seed, growing and blooming into three roses. Airiana handed me a red one, Jayzon and her received the pink ones.

"Ok," she said. "Now what?"

"We crush them," I said, "and they take us back to the surface."

"Right," Jayzon said. "Well, here goes nothing." We all crushed our roses and closed our eyes.

*Quote from page 141 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.


	16. I Fail To Get Back What Was Taken

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, the song "America," Sleeping Beauty, Nerf, or Hershey's.

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: I Fail To Get Back What Was Taken<p>

I hate demigod dreams.

I decided to take a short nap during the pearl ride (hey, it had been quite a while since I had slept and I had battled a eight-headed hydra and a three-headed dog since then). Almost as soon as I shut my eyes, the dream started.

I was standing in a large wheat field with a few rolling hills scattered here and there. The wind blew gently across the plants, giving the impression of rolling waves of grain. Maybe that was where the song got the image. A lone apple tree stood in the middle of the field, tall with age, the apples just about to ripen to a beautiful, deep red.

Suddenly the shadow from the tree rippled and a man stepped from it. He was tall, about 6' 8" and wasn't necessarily muscular, but also didn't have an ounce of fat on him. Stepping into the sunlight, he blinked several times before brushing his hair off his pale skin which glistened in the sun. Hades. He stepped forward and stood at attention. His foot was tapping the ground and he looked at his watch several times before looking away in disgust. Clearly he was waiting for somebody. He looked directly at me, almost as if he saw me. I stood still, but he simply smirked and looked away. I moved closer.

A flash emanated from the clear blue sky and a glowing chariot of blue and white fell from it. I ran quite a ways away before turning around to see what had happened. Hades hadn't flinched.

"Good morning Nephew," Hades said, loud enough for me to hear. A shorter man stepped from the chariot. He was about 5' 10" and with the build of a track star and wearing a joggers outfit. He had streaks of gray in his otherwise full head of black hair. I couldn't see his face, but I knew it would have blue eyes and a sly smile because he was Hermes, god of messengers and thieves. The godly parents of Christopher and Lily. I moved closer so I could hear.

"I hear you have a message for me," Hades said.

"I have a message for everyone," Hermes replied.

"And?" Hades asked.

"Zeus sends his warning: 'Leave her alone.'"

"Or what?" Hades asked, chuckling.

"Zeus has many punishments," Hermes began.

"Spare me," Hades interupted, turning away. "Besides, I am leaving her alone."

"Didn't look like it," Hermes said, following closely and running to keep up with Hades larger strides.

"She came to me," Hades said. Suddenly I was beginning to wonder if they were talking about Lily or not.

"Nevertheless, you are not to reveal anything to her," Hermes said.

"I will not defy the fates, you have my word," Hades said.

Hermes laughed. "Your word is nothing," he said. "If you haven't told her anything, why is she so powerful? The Lythe is supposed to wipe their memories clean."

"The Lythe is working fine," Hades said. "Perhaps she was smart enough to discover on her own?"

"Smart enough? She failed every class she took."

"Don't all our children?" Hades said. Hermes merely shrugged. Hades turned back toward the tree, Hermes right beside him.

"If Zeus had his way she'd be dead," Hermes said.

"Seems to be a lot of people feeling that way," Hades said. Hermes pulled him to a stop.

"You know the rules, Hades. They pass through the Lythe and then we make sure they are reborn into another of our offspring. You were to have a child that night."

Hades growled. "I did," he said, walking away again.

"You did?" Hermes asked, not moving.

"Yes, I did. Christopher Nash was conceived that night," Hades said without stopping. Hermes ran to catch up.

"Then why didn't she go there?" Hermes asked.

"No idea," Hades said. "Perhaps the Fates made a mistake?"

"The Fates don't make mistakes," Hermes said.

"Then there is a reason," Hades said, reaching the tree. "And I'm sure we'll find out what it is." He bowed to his nephew and then dissolved into the shadow from the tree without hearing the curse Hermes had spat at him.

* * *

><p>"Alex!"<p>

"Alex!"

"Alex! Wake up!"

Two voices were shouting and someone was kicking me in the side.

"I'm awake," I managed.

"Finally," a voice said. I recognized that one as Jayzon's. "You had us worried man."

"I thought you were dead," Airiana said.

I opened my eyes. I was lying flat on my back, looking up at a partly cloudy sky at daybreak. Under me, a plank extended several feet back to a rough shoreline. The plank extended only a few feet further out into sea. The water was calm under the pier and a deep blue color. I gently eased myself to a sitting position.

Our wooden pier seemed to be the only wooden one in the city. Several concrete piers jutted out from the shore periodically to our right and left. Most of the piers were significantly wider than the one I was sitting on, housing shopping districts with multitudes of differently colored shop fronts and people who were completely ignoring the fact that three children had suddenly appeared on the small wooden fishing spot quite literally below them.

And I fully understood why no one saw us. The pier smelled disgusting. There were giant oil drums lined along the edges close to the shore, each emitting a stench fowler than the last one. Nearby, people dressed in a myriad of clothes slept on coats, blankets and pretty much anything else they could find that was cushiony. Some were beginning to stir as the sun crested over the eastern mountains.

I looked out across the water and saw something I really didn't expect to see: land. It was distant, but it was definitely there and then my heart sank. Extending from our small piece of land to the one in the distance was a large suspension bridge with two towers painted bright red and glistening in the sunlight. The Golden Gate Bridge.

"We're in San Francisco," I said.

"No way," Jayzon mocked, "I thought we were in South Beach." I went to hit him, but he moves inhumanly fast at dawn.

"We need to find Chris, and fast," Airiana said, breaking up the fight.

"Jayzon may be able to help with that," I said.

"How's that?" Jayzon asked. I pointed to the end of the pier. Sleeping just off the water's edge was an elderly man dressed in the grungiest looking clothing on the pier, which was saying a lot. He was sleeping facing the water, but I knew he was perfectly aware of what was going on. I was going to have to do this well.

"Who is he?" Airiana asked.

"Nereus," I said. "Old Man of the Sea."

"How can you tell?" she asked. "He looks like everyone else."

"Hera," I said. I pointed to a man who was about to drool on Jayzon's shoe. "You see that guy? His name is Joseph. Three years ago he was laid off from work. Four months later his wife threw him out and filed for divorce. He's been here ever since. And that guy next to the oil drums is Mark. He used to be an executive for a Fortune 500 company until he got caught for a little insider trading. Three years in prison and now no one will hire him. I have the powers of the goddess of mothers. All mothers. I know everyone and most of the stories behind who they are. That man is the Old Man of the Sea."

"Ok," she said. "How does that help us?"

I smiled. "Everyone who catches him gets to ask him one question, which he has to answer truthfully. And since he knows everything that can be really beneficial."

"And no one is faster than Jayzon at dawn," Airiana said.

"There's only one problem," I said.

"What's that?" Jayzon asked. He was already stretching.

"As soon as you touch him, he'll jump into the sea," I said.

"So we have to cage him in," Airiana said.

"Right," I said. "If only there were some plants around for you to grow a cage with. Too bad, guess we need a plan b." I threw in a wink for effect. Airiana nodded.

For a while nothing happened while Jayzon moved closer to the man. Then the planks suddenly remembered that they were once trees. Vines shot out of the planks in a large circle around the two of them, quickly weaving so closely together that dust had difficulty escaping. Airiana even remembered to get below the planks too. The cage quickly rose 10 feet and closed tightly shut. It began to shake violently, jutting in many different directions like there was a killer whale inside; which there might have been. I began to wonder if we had sent Jayzon into a trap. Just when I thought the cage was going to burst, all motion stopped. The pier was quiet.

"You think we should help him?" Airiana asked.

"He'll be ok," I said with more confidence than I felt.

Suddenly fire erupted in the side of the cage, opening a door in the side. A seal jumped out of the door and into the bay before Jayzon appeared, bow in hand and several flaming arrows in his quiver.

"That was fun," he said, stepping over what was left of the burning cage wall.

"And?" I asked.

He pointed across the bay toward a mountain. "Mount Tam," he said.

"It's going to get more fun," I said.

* * *

><p>We hailed a cab to take us as far up the mountain as it could.<p>

"Not many people head up that mountain," the cabby said. "Dem locals all say it's haunted. Say it had some dark cloud around it a few years back. Some even say they saw horrible monsters climbin the side from the sea. Got off a big cruise ship dem monsters did. I don't believe none of it, meself."

I closed the divider.

"Lucky we were dropped off at that pier," Airiana said.

"Blessing of Persephone," I said. "I just hope it doesn't count as interference on her part."

"Why?" Airiana asked.

"Because the Fates don't like it," Jayzon said. "If an immortal interferes in a hero's quest, the Fates ensure that events turn out against the immortal."

"But didn't Hermes visit us, and Athena in the desert," Airiana said.

"The gods can suggest things to us. They can even answer prayers. But they cannot force us to do something against our will. You'll notice that Hermes asked if he could join us and Athena didn't talk to us."

"Ares did," Airiana said, a tone of bitterness in her voice.

"Yes, but not about the quest," I said.

"What was the driver talking about anyway?" Airana asked.

I took a deep breath. "Something he shouldn't know about. During the second Titan War, the Titans used Mount Tam to rebuild their home: Mount Othrys. The cloud around it would have been the darkness emanating from their temples. During the war, Luke Castilian attacked my father on the mountain by having his army of monsters climb up the side of it."

"If mortals don't know, should we be worried about him?" Jayzon asked.

I shrugged. "The mist would have to be really powerful to hide that battle. Plus he was just reporting stories. It's possible that someone was spreading them. Every good ghost story has some truth in it."

I looked out the window and saw that Mount Tam was getting closer.

"How are we going to pay for this?" Airiana asked. I realized for the first time that we had left our bags and money in the Underworld.

"We won't have to," I said as I lowered the divider.

"See, OJ's problem was that he killed them in a traceable way. There are so many ways to kill someone without getting caught..." the cabby was saying.

"That's wonderful," I said. "I'm more interested in that mountain. Go off road if you can."

"Yes sir," he said. "You know you remind me of someone I once knew in New York..."

"I'll give you a tip if you shut up," I said. The cabby got very quiet.

"Great, now we owe him more," Jayzon mumbled just loud enough for me to hear.

The road ended and the cabby kept driving, weaving up the mountain a little further. When I began to see the golden glow, I snapped my fingers. At first, nothing happened. Then we turned around an old stone wall.

Airiana, Jayzon and the driver all audibly gasped. The wall enclosed a large circular clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood a tree that was in full bloom. Large, golden apples hung from every branch, reflecting the sunlight in all directions, creating a brilliant and bright rainbow of colors. At the base of the tree laid a large, sleeping dragon. Now, most dragons are not as scary as the tales would have you believe, but if you've heard of the dragon, it usually will be. This one was at least twenty feet wide, with scales thick as armor and scarred with the remnants of battles with hero and mortal alike. Even asleep, it seemed like it could kill you on the spot without much trouble. Its name was Ladon, and it happened to have about a hundred heads. I was really beginning to despise multi-headed monsters.

"We'll get out here," I said.

"You got it," the driver said. As soon as we were out of the car, he zoomed down the mountain. He didn't even wait for payment.

"How did you know he wouldn't wait?" Jayzon asked.

"I figured the dragon would make him forget about the money," I said.

"But the mist would hide that," Airiana said.

"The Mist can be removed in small areas," I said.

"You did that?" she said, looking shocked. "That's steeling."

"That's using nature to your advantage," I said.

"A distinction thou would not have been allowed to make in my day," a woman's voice said. I turned around. Standing next to the tree was a girl in her late teens, patting the dragon on the head with a stern look on her face. "Welcome to my garden," she said. "Normally you'd only be allowed in at sunset, but with me in charge, things will change."

"Zoe?" I asked. She nodded. "You're supposed to be dead."

"I was," she said. "Wonderful sword that boy stole. Sent my sisters straight to Tartartus and brought me back."

"Wha..wh.." I started.

"Why?" she asked. "Why would I want such a thing?" She smiled an evil smile. "Because they never cared about me. They could have saved me up there you know. They could have saved me but they stayed, protecting this worthless tree. And my mistress did nothing to help me. I thought she would genuinely try everything she could, but now I know better. She was just trying to upgrade to the daughter of Zeus. I've been passed over all my life, and I was passed over in death. Well, now it will be different."

"Wait, you're a Huntress?" Airiana asked.

"I was," Zoe said. "I was the Lieutenant of Artemis. Best years of my life. But I'm not now. Now, I'm just a wandering spirit."

"Look pretty solid to me," I said.

"That sword is powerful," she said.

"I don't suppose you're going to let us through are you," I asked.

She smiled. "In time," she said. "Chris is not yet finished. You arrived sooner than expected."

"What is he doing?" I asked.

"Calling," she said. "Calling us all."

"How many?"

"Enough."

Lightning flashed from the sky onto the summit of the mountain. I heard a bellow as if the bolt had hit someone. I knew Atlas was up there, trying to hold up the sky, I thought it probably was him.

"That's the sign," Zoe said. "Head on up, Chris is waiting for you." She produced a short bronze weapon and sliced at the chain holding the dragon to the tree. The chain snapped in two as Zoe jumped onto the dragon's back. Ladon woke, spread its wings and flew out over our heads and into the night sky. Just before she was out of sight, she turned around and fired a flaming arrow which hit the tree right at the base and set it ablaze.

"That can't be good," Jayzon said.

"That belonged to Hera." I said, anger palpable in my voice.

"Well, what do we do?" Airiana asked. "Thalia and your mother are depending on us."

"We keep going, expected or not," I said. And so we kept climbing.

* * *

><p>The summit of Mount Tam looked almost exactly as my father had described it. The summit was covered in black marble. Large, temple sized, cracked foundations, some parts turned almost vertically in the air; golden statues of large creatures melted as if hit by something as hot as lightning were standing in odd places around the summit; large pieces of onyx colored marble columns and walls were lying strewn around, some looking like they had just fallen, others half buried. Atlas stood, grunting, right where he should be, balancing the sky on his shoulders.<p>

"What happened?" Airiana asked.

"Chiron said that Mount Othrys crumbled after the war," I said. "It looks to still be in the process of falling, literally."

"A process that Zeus should have sped up," a voice said to our left. I looked. Standing casually by one of the few upright pillars was a buff teenager, muscular and smirking. Next to him was a slender, athletic looking girl with a sly smile and a face I never would trust. I recognized the voice as the lighter one I had heard in all those dreams. It was Christopher Nash I was hearing.

They were each was wearing jet black clothing as if they were getting ready to steal something very important, or perhaps, just having stolen it. Behind them a large hole had been dug and filled with a brown soda. Steak floated in the liquid and even in the sunlight, I could see the shifting shapes of countless souls coming to take a drink. But Christopher Nash and Lily Harper were paying them no attention. They were facing us, a large black sword hanging at Christopher's side.

The sword was a dark blade, made of black Stygian iron and double edged. It was about as long as my father's sword, normal, neither long or short. It had skeletal designs etched in silver across the blade and the hilt was wrapped in leather. At the base of the sword, where the crossbar crossed it, was a large circular design with a golden key welded into it.

"Magnificent sword, isn't it?" Christopher said. "Hades was foolish to make it; it will be the downfall of the gods!"

"Hades swore never to use it against the gods!" I said, stepping forward, my toothpick appearing in my hand. Airiana held me back.

"And so he didn't," Christopher said. "I do not answer to him or any god."

"What do you want?" Airiana asked.

"Me?" Christopher asked. "To replace the gods. To rule in their place."

"You picked the wrong mountain," I said. "This one's taken."

"I will rule from Olympus," he said. "I only needed a powerful location to summon my friends."

"Why would you want to destroy the gods?" I asked.

"What have the gods done for us? My father completely ignored me in favor of his dream child, Di Angelo. I was forgotten, ignored, practically disowned. It took Hades two weeks to claim me, remember?"

"He did claim you though," I said.

"Yes, and what else do the gods do for us? Leaving us alone on our quests, ignoring our prayers, seeming like they hardly know we exist. Persephone killed my mother, did you know that? Hades left me at an orphanage to fend for myself. That's why I showed up to camp so early in life. The gods don't deserve this world. Their time has come."

"Kronos rose here," I said. "If he couldn't topple Olympus, what makes you think you can?"

Christopher smiled. "Kronos never stood a chance. Power does not go back in time. Uranus was beaten by his son Kronos, Kronos was beaten by his son Zeus. Zeus will be defeated by his son, not his father."

"You are not a son of Zeus," I said.

"No I am not, but I will place a son of Zeus on his throne with this," he said, holding out the sword. "It holds the keys to death. I can raise the dead, and I can lock souls in the underworld with a single touch. One touch of this blade will send your soul to Tartarus in a matchbox. Any soul for that matter."

"Not if we stop you," Airiana said, stepping ahead of me a few steps.

Christopher laughed. "Sleeping Beauty wants to stand against the son of Hades? Very well."

"You'll be weak after all that summoning," Airiana said. It made sense; it took a lot of energy for demigods to use their powers.

"True, I am weak," Christopher said. "But you're just a florist."

"I'm more than a flower salesman," Airiana said, making no effort to hide her bitterness. "Come! Obey me!" she said. The ground rippled and three claws rose from it. The claws formed skeletal hands, arms followed the hands and torsos followed them as three Roman warriors climbed out from the ground and stood facing Christopher. They each drew a small, golden gladius like a synchronized demigod fighting team. Airiana took off her ring and flipped it, summoning _Goliath _and yelled "Attack!"

Christopher simply held up the sword. The Romans stopped and looked at it strangely, as if it was about to do a trick. Then they turned on Airiana.

My father's armor saved her as their golden blades hit it and shattered. I twirled out _Sabertooth_ and rushed to help. Airiana swung her sword to the right, stopped halfway into the motion and quickly swung left. The soldier on her right had ducked to avoid the blow, but it caught the soldier on the left by surprise and it crumbled to ashes upon contact with _Goliath._ Airiana came back around and I was forced to raise _Sabertooth _to avoid losing my head. The collision pushed me back several paces and turned my sword so it went back to toothpick form. Airiana charged the soldier who had been on her right, exposing the third behind her. I threw my toothpick at him. He laughed until it transformed into a javelin, and by then it was too late to avoid. It stuck in his chest and then dropped to the ground as he crumbled to dust. Airiana had finished off the third by the time I retrieved _Sabertooth._

"You sure you want to fight this?" Christopher asked.

"I don't like it as much as a foam bat," I said. I pictured the Sword of Hades becoming the Nerf baseball bat and concentrated as hard as I could. I felt the hook under my navel, felt power emanating from me, but the Sword of Hades did nothing. I focused harder and then collapsed to the ground.

"Alex, you alright?" Airiana asked.

"Yea," I said, trying and failing to get up. "I couldn't do it."

"It was a nice trick you pulled down there," Christopher said. "But that was a mortal weapon. This is a symbol of power, a symbol of a big three power. It takes more energy. You'll be out for a while. Guess you're alone, Tulip Terror." Airiana raised her sword. "Fine," Christopher said. "Die alone."

"She's not alone," a man's voice said behind us. Using energy I didn't have, I turned to see a middle aged man with deep, dark eyes and pure black hair. He wore a black leather jacket over a black undershirt and black cargo jeans with chains stretching from pocket to pocket.

"Nico," Christopher and I said simultaneously. Nico stepped beside Airiana and drew his sword, a three foot sword also made of Stygian iron, minus the key and creepy markings. Actually, Nico's had creepy markings too. He nodded at Airiana then turned back to Christopher and Lily.

Christopher looked genuinely scared for a second then composed himself. "Well, it's been fun, hasn't it? Till next time," he said.

"No you don't!" Nico shouted, jumping toward Christopher, but Chris had already grabbed Lily and shimmered into shadow and then disappeared. Nico cursed. "Come back and fight, coward!" he said.

"Who is that again?" Airiana asked.

"Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades," I said.

"I like him," Airiana said.

"Gross, he's like a hundred years your elder," I said.

"Ugh, not like that," Airiana said. "Why is every guy a threat to you? Why can't you let me be human!" she said. She stormed off toward Jayzon saying something that sounded a lot like "boys," and planted a firm kiss on Jayzon's cheek. He shoved her away, which made me like him a lot more.

Nico offered me a small bite of a Hershey's chocolate bar, which I ate. Suddenly, I had the energy to stand.

"Thanks," I said. "Why didn't you use Ambrosia?"

"Don't waste Ambrosia," he said. "You'd be surprised how powerful chocolate is. They call it the food of the gods."

"I'll remember that," I said.

The shadows around what could only be Kronos' ruined temple shimmered and my sword appeared in my hand, as did Nico's. A large, black chariot of obsidian inlaid with gold appeared out of the shadows, pulled by horses made of pure shadow and darkness. Riding on the chariot was Hades and someone I never expected to see: my mother.

"Mom," I said, rushing to her side.

"You have done well, son of Hera," Hades said. "I am impressed."

"But I failed. Your sword is still gone," I said.

"I never asked you to retrieve it, that would have been impossible," he said. "I must retrieve it myself. But now I know who has it and what he plans to do with it. That is a powerful advantage. Power is not always flashy; sometimes the most powerful things can't be seen at all."

"Thanks, Uncle," I said.

Hades nodded. "Now, I promised your mother a ride east on the next Hades express. If you want to tag along, I suggest you all get on now." Airiana, Jayzon and I didn't waste any time finding a spot; Hades didn't sound like he was joking about the now thing. Nico just stood there.

"Nico, are you coming?" I asked.

Nico smiled and shook his head. "No, I've got places to be. Good luck," he said and then disappeared in shadow.

"Well then," Hades said. "East."


	17. Airiana Has A Secret, If Only She Knew

Disclaimer: (It's kind of sad that this is the last one of these for this story. I do get a kick out of seeing how long they get...) I do not own PJO, Catch 22,

A/N: Thank you to twi-potter-mokingjay for adding my story. Also thank you to whoever reviewed.

* * *

><p>Chapter 17: Airiana Has a Secret, If Only She Knew<p>

Shadow traveling is the worst way to travel. The chariot was surrounded in complete darkness, so thick that I couldn't see my hand. This was good because I couldn't move my hand due to the intense, freezing cold and the fact that we seemed to be moving faster than a jetliner. I was quite sure I was going to leave part of me behind. Maybe my stomach.

Then, just as soon as the world had disappeared, it came back into focus.

The chariot was resting at the base of Half-Blood Hill, facing Thalia's tree. It was almost sunset. Hades urged the shadow horses forward and they inched up the hill easily.

"I, Annabeth Jackson, herby authorize you to enter camp," my mother said. "Once," she added.

"Thank you Ms. Chase," Hades said. Mom ignored it.

The chariot drove past the tree and camp spread out in front of me. I've never been so happy to see camp in my life. The cabins and training fields stretched out, empty, to our left, the Big House stood empty to our right. Hades drove straight toward the Dining Pavilion, which was full of campers eating dinner.

Jim Davis was, unfortunately, the first to see him. "Attack! It's an attack! Ares to me!" he said, pulling his weapon. Most of the Ares table stood and pulled their own weapons. His brother Jeff just kept eating his roast beef.

"Easy, Jim," Chiron said from the staff table. "He's not alone."

Hades pulled up next to the pavilion and we all filed off the chariot. Hades got off last.

"Chiron, may I have a word?" Hades said.

"Of course, my lord Hades," the centaur said. The two went off toward the Big House.

"Annabeth!" the Athena table said in one voice once Hades and Chiron disappeared into the house. They all got up and dog piled my mother.

"Ok, thanks guys," my mother said, muffled from the bottom of the pile. They all got off. That's when I noticed Thalia sitting at table 8. She motioned for us to come over. Airiana and I walked over. I wasn't sure if she was talking to me yet. Jayzon went over to the Apollo table instead.

"When did you get here?" I asked when we'd gotten over to the table.

"About an hour ago," she said. "Once Hades had his information."

"But Hades took my mother here as fast as he could. How did you beat him?" I asked.

Thalia smiled. "I have my ways to travel fast," she said, smirking.

"She prayed to me for help," said a teenage girl with amber hair sitting next to her. "And you, young woman, have a decision to make. I do not like to be kept waiting."

Airiana went pale. "Now?" she said.

Artemis' face softened. "Unfortunately yes, my dear," she said. "We must be off before campfire tonight. I hope you will join us."

It suddenly dawned on me what Artemis was asking. Before the quest, she had asked Airiana if she wanted to join the Hunt. Now she was demanding an answer. Airiana turned to face me, fear in her eyes. I said nothing, for there was nothing to say.

"Leave all this?" she said softly, looking at me, Jayzon, Mr. D. She looked out over the cabins, over the climbing wall and lake. I could almost see her remembering our tour of the camp.

"Not forever," Thalia said. "But we come here sparingly. Bad things happen when we come here. The Apollo cabin had them all speaking in rhyme while we were gone."

"But, friends. I'd have friends. Friends that would never leave me," she said.

"Yes," Thalia said.

"And immortality."

"That too."

"But," she said. She turned to me. "SAY SOMETHING!"

"What is there to say?" I said. "It's not my decision."

"Airiana dear," Artemis said. "A girl is never forced to do anything, but only you can make this decision."

She turned away and stared into the hearth. Then she turned back, a determined look in her face. My stomach did a summersault, prepared for the worst.

"Lady Artemis," she said, still looking at me. "You make an unbeatable offer."

My heart sank.

"Is that a yes?" Artemis asked.

"No," she said, turning to Artemis. "It comes at too high a cost. I can't help but think there's a life for me out there somewhere; a happiness that involves others. I have to maintain the possibility that those others include men. I sorry, my lady. But no."

"Very well," Artemis said. "We must be off."

The pavilion was flooded with light from the Big House as the door opened onto the new night. Hades and Chiron strode out from the house and back to Hades' chariot. Hades loaded up and drove off into the nearest tree. Then Chiron turned to the pavilion. "Campfire's canceled," he said. A large groan came from the campers. "Head Counselors Council in five minutes. You are dismissed!" he said over the noise.

* * *

><p>I ran to get changed into fresh clothes that weren't all scratched from the quest. Five minutes later found me, as head counselor of Hera, sitting at the center of the ping-pongwar council table in the Big House living room. Airiana sat next to me, representing Persephone's "cabin." Thalia sat across from me, having spent the last five minutes convincing Artemis to stay a bit longer. Next to her sat an empty chair, where Christopher Nash should have sat representing Hades. It only reinforced that the last week was not a dream.

To Airiana's left, Jayzon sat representing Apollo. He wasn't the head counselor, but Daniel Lee had decided he would be more knowledgeable for this meeting. Next to me was Jim Davis of Ares, who seemed to still be incredibly angry that he hadn't gotten to fight Hades. A short chubby girl of 17 named Mary Bennett sat next to Jim playing with a grapevine that she could grow from almost anything using Mr. D's powers.

Toward the end of the table, my father sat across from Annabeth, who Athena had sent for the same reason Jayzon was here. Next to her was Grace Ayers, daughter of Demeter who was talking across the table with Kim Santos from Hecate.

At that point, a young boy walked into the living room. The boy was handsome, even at about 9 years old, slender with sky blue eyes and strikingly blonde hair. He walked shyly around the far end of the table. He passed by Kat Newsome, who was waving her callused hands at the freshly manicured ones of Meredith King. Apparently they were having the traditional Hephaestus-Aphrodite argument about who cheated on who first. Across from them, Chris Williams was staring into space, not quite here. I didn't blame him, Hermes had lost a camper in the worst way. The boy walked quickly and sat in the empty chair next to Thalia.

"You just get here?" Thalia asked once he had sat down.

"Yeah," he said. "Three days ago."

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Jet Richards," he said. "You're Thalia Grace. I've heard all about you ever since the claiming."

Thalia nodded. "Dad's seat is at the head of the table, next to where Percy's sitting."

"Oh," he said getting back up.

"And Jet," Thalia said. "There's a little alcove near the front where you can sleep without Dad's watchful eye."

"Someone's already there," Jet said.

"I'm not coming back," she said. "Take it." Jet nodded and took Zeus' seat at the head of the table. The room was quiet, which was strange because usually we were doing stupid things like shoving pencils into the Hypno counselor's nose. Apparently everyone could sense the seriousness of this meeting.

Chiron walked into the room, passed the Hypno counselor whose name I had never learned. Honestly I was surprised he had gotten up long enough to come in here.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why this meeting has been called," Chrion said. "Lord Hades has asked me to inform the Olympian Council of a troubling matter. Two of our campers have stolen the Sword of Hades and used it to raise five spirits from the dead."

"But that's impossible," Thalia said.

"Not impossible," said a remarkably beautiful woman in a purple pants suit. She pulled a seat up next to Chiron, who was standing at the head of the table across from Jet. "Thalia, I told you '_One shall succeed where others have failed.' _And so he has. Christopher Nash has successfully brought back a soul from the dead."

"Is that the mayor?" Airiana asked in my ear.

"Yes," I whispered. "Here we just call her the Oracle of Delphi."

"And Christopher's true nature has been finally revealed," Rachel continued.

"I didn't think too long on your prophecy to tell you the truth," Thalia said.

"I know," Rachel said. "You Hunters never do."

"How could he do that though?" a voice said behind Chiron. I looked up to see Nico Di Angelo striding confidently to the Hades chair next to Thalia. "Even I can't raise the dead to true life."

"He said the sword let him," I said.

"It would," Chiron said. "That is more than just a sword. It is a symbol of Hades' power."

"What does that matter?" my father said.

"Oh, think, Seaweed Brain," my mother said. "Why do you think Zeus was so worried when his Master Bolt was stolen all those years ago?"

"Because he couldn't make lightning?" Dad said.

"No, he could still make lightning; he almost blew us up on that bus," Mom said. "He was worried because it was a symbol of power. If someone had stolen it from him, they could make a claim to his throne."

"What?" I said, not hiding the shock in my voice.

Chiron sighed. "Take Poseidon for example. The sea obviously obeys Poseidon because he sits on the throne of the sea. But, if someone showed up with his Trident in hand and told the sea spirits to do something else, it would create a serious problem. The spirits would have to make a choice between Poseidon and the holder of the Trident."

"But," Percy said. "It's just a weapon. Wouldn't they side with the god?"

"Possibly in the sea," Nico said. "But in the Underworld, there are several spirits who are not very happy with Hades. I'm afraid they will likely be looking for an excuse to betray him. With the symbol of power in his hand, Christopher could stake a claim to Hades' throne. He would likely have a small army of the worst spirits from the Fields of Punishment as well as the worst monsters that Dad keeps locked in Tartarus on his side."

"Would it be enough?" Airiana asked.

"It could be." Nico said. "Depending on how many monsters he freed."

"Then we need to do something," I urged.

"No," Chiron said.

"But this could be the beginning of the Great Prophecy!" I exclaimed. "I'm not going to look on and do nothing!"

"Wait," Nico said. "There's another Great Prophecy?"

Rachel looked at Chiron, who simply looked down in defeat. Then she pulled a locket out of her pocket and opened it:

_New rulers matched up as one to one_

_Heroes discover what's been undone._

_Destruction reaches the hallowed halls,_

_Heroes look on as Olympus falls;_

_Fight from without and fight from within,_

_All start anew; returning again_

"Olympus falls?" Thalia said weakly.

"Don't worry, we will fight for Olympus," I said.

"Winston, don't try to think too hard. Even I can't figure it out," Rachel said.

"But we will do nothing," Chiron said. "For now. Hades instructed me to inform the Olympians. They will decide the proper course of action."

"And when will that be?" I snapped.

"Probably the winter solstice," Chiron said. "It is the next time they will all be there, including Hades."

"Then that's the perfect time to attack," I said. I caught my mother smiling.

"Mr. D. has ensured me that there will be heightened security," Chiron said. "Sword or not, Chris would stand no chance this December. I thought the camp should know. You are dismissed."

Everyone got up and left. I stayed.

"Mr. Jackson?" Chiron asked, walking to stand next to me. Airiana stopped at the door to see if I was ok. I nodded. "i assume there is a reason you have not left," Chiron continued.

"Who's missing?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Chiron asked.

"You said Chris raised five spirits from the dead. Who?"

"Zoe Nightshade I believe you met already," Chiron said. I nodded, not liking the memory. "He also raised Daedalus, Andrew Jackson, King Minos and Michael Yew."

"Artemis, Athena, Ares, Zeus and Apollo," I said. "Combined with Hades and Hermes from our two campers. _One to One;_ and more than half of what he'd need."

"I do not normally attempt to figure out prophecies," Chiron said. Then he chuckled, "at least before they happen. But I agree: Mr. Nash seems to be forming an new Olympian Council."

"He said that was what he was planning: to rule from Olympus in the gods place," I said. "The Olympians must be told."

"I agree. And I would like you to be there on the solstice, to help explain what has happened," Chiron said.

"I can do that," I said.

"Good. Now run along play like a good boy," Chiron said.

* * *

><p><em> Dear _<span>Winston Johnson<span>__

_ If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit._

_Have a nice day!_

_Mr. D (Dionysus)_

_Camp Director, Olympian Council #12_

The letter was left on my bed table every year, but this was the first year that I really paid it any attention. I had never had any reason to leave before, my whole family was here and I had a daughter of Athena offering to home school me. But this summer I had experienced all the outside world had to offer. This summer, I had a decision to make. So, I did what really helps to make such a difficult decision: I went to play basketball.

Jayzon was already at the court, waiting for me when I arrived. "'Bout time you showed up," he said. "Now we can start. I pick Alex!" The other students just groaned.

I was playing a bit absentmindedly. Without Jim and Jeff Davis facing us, there really wasn't anything for me to do except pass to Jayzon and watch him make baskets. It really was unfair.

"Ok, we win," Jayzon said after making his twelfth three point basket.

"You made a decision yet?" I asked as we walked away from the court.

"On what?" Jayzon asked.

"You know what," I said.

"I always go back to Oklahoma, you know that," he said.

"Right," I said.

"Hey you two," Airiana said, coming up behind us. "What's up?"

"Alex still can't decide if he wants to stay or not," Jayzon said.

"What? You haven't decided yet?" she asked.

"No," I said. "What are you doing?"

"I've enrolled in your Grandfather's school," she said. "You should come too. I mean half the camp goes there. I'm sure he holds a spot open for you."

"You mean that?" I asked.

"With all my heart," she said.

"Maybe I will," I said, and then I left to start packing.

* * *

><p>A few hours later I was standing near Thalia's pine, watching the campers file into Argus' van. "You ready?" I asked, motioning to the van.<p>

"I'm not going by van," she said.

"Then how are you getting to Chicago?" I asked.

"I'm going home first," she said. "Iowa. Your grandfather is personally picking us up tomorrow morning. If you want to join me, that is. We have a guest bedroom for you. I want one more day with you before they make us stay 6 inches apart at that boarding school."

"Again, how are you getting there?" I asked.

"Shadow travel," she said. "Nico's been training me and I think I'm ready."

"You think?" I asked.

"You trust me?" she asked. I took her hand and she stepped into the shadow of the tree. I felt the rush of cold air, the feeling of traveling faster than light, as if the shadow itself was bending around me and then I saw the world reform.

We were standing in front of an ornate, single floor farm house with a small field of flowers growing in the yard. Rows upon rows of corn stretched behind it, just beginning to yield fruit. It was going to be a good harvest. A bee buzzed up and landed upon Airiana's shoulder. It buzzed around her ear and flew off. She smiled and knocked.

The door quickly opened to two men in wheelchairs. One was a power wheelchair or scooter, like you'd see in the commercials. It appeared to hover up to the door; just far enough to allow Airiana to give her father a hug. He appeared frail, but not weak, as if he was surviving on sheer will alone. I would later learn he had been fighting MS for 14 years, but his eyes still glowed with life. The second I recognized as Chiron in his mortal world disguise.

"My daughter has returned," the first man said. "I can truly be happy again."

"Dad, you know I'm leaving for school tomorrow," Airiana said. "You'll make me feel guilty."

"No, I'll be the happiest man in the world tomorrow," he said.

"You must be Will Wilson," I said. "Airiana speaks highly of you."

"Call me Billy, please," he said. "It's the only one that doesn't sound strange."

"Why are you named William anyway?" I asked, following him into the house.

"My father was an obsessed fan of the book Catch 22," he said. "Particularly of the character Major Major Major Major. He thought the name William Wilson would be fun."

Billy Wilson moved into the living room and motioned to chairs for Airiana and me. "Chiron, you have not mentioned why you have decided to grace us with your presence."

"I have some questions for you and Airiana. Questions that couldn't be asked at camp," he said.

"Questions?" Airiana asked.

"Yes," Chiron said. "But first, I think you must hear about young Mr. Jackson's dream.

I told her about my dread with Hades and Hermes, how they had talked about a child of Hades returning from the dead.

"Returning from the dead?" Airiana asked.

Chiron nodded. "First, when is your birthday?" he asked.

"November 2nd, why?"

"And how old will you be this November?" he asked.

"15."

"Then it fits," he said frowning.

"Then what fits?" she asked.

"When you were in the underworld, did you see a large pavilion?" he asked.

"Entered it," Airiana said.

"Well, that's unfortunate," Chiron said. "That is the Judgment Pavilion. There, souls get judged on how well they lived their lives. If they have been evil, they go to the Fields of Punishment. If they were extra good, heroic even, they go to Elysium."

"The happy, colorful place?" Airiana asked.

"Yes. Some souls decide to stay there. Some do not. Instead they choose to attempt to reach the Isles of the Blest. In order to do that, they are reborn. If they achieve Elysium three times, they can live in the Isles."

"What does this have to do with me?" Airiana asked.

"The gods have forbidden me to tell you," Chiron said, preparing to leave. "But I think I've said enough for Alex to clue you in." Then he left.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"When a soul wishes to be reborn, they are taken to the River Lythe, a river on the edge of the Underworld. The waters of the Lythe wash away their memories from their previous life so they can live a new life, free of influence. They are always reborn on November 2: the Day of the Dead."

"Ok, so I have the right birthday," she said. "So what?"

"The gods do not allow a single demigod to have more than one power," I said. "That was why they had so many problems with me. Poseidon and Athena both had the ability to claim me, but only one could. How to choose? Normally, the weaker god yields to the stronger. But I was the first grandchild of two Olympians. That's why Hera had me dedicated to her: to avoid Olympic sized conflict."

"Still doesn't involve me," Airiana said.

"You have the powers of two gods," I said.

"What?"

"Persephone and Hades, you have the powers of two gods," I said.

"But you said Persephone might have both powers. She is Queen of the Underworld," she said.

"You said that," I said. "Hermes was right. It should be one or the other: flowers or zombies. You should have to choose."

"Then why don't I?" she asked to no one in particular.

"You have chosen," I said. "I didn't know for sure until my dream. When demigods are born, their abilities are in their souls, not their DNA. After all gods don't have DNA to pass on. Therefore, when demigod souls come back from Elysium, they may not have their memories, but they still have their powers. They just have to rediscover them. Therefore, if a child of Hermes is reborn into a child of Poseidon, the gods would have a problem."

"The child would have the powers of both," she said, looking at her hands like they would explode.

"Exactly. So, they don't take the risk. Hermes explained it in the dream. On the night that the souls leave the Underworld, the gods have another affair and have another child. Then the fates make sure the souls go to the right place. That way the demigods have only one god's powers."

"You're saying I'm back from the dead?" she said.

"Yes," I said. "You were the girl they were talking about in my dream. 15 years ago, you bathed in the River Lythe, removing your previous life from your soul, purifying it for a new life. That same night, Hades left the Underworld to have an affair to prepare a body for you. Also, Persephone left, angry, and had an affair of her own. And then the fates placed you, for a reason I'm sure, in the wrong body. Airiana Wilson's life has chosen powers of vegetation because your soul already had the powers of Hades."

"What happened to Hades' child?" she asked.

"You don't want to know," I said.

"Yes I do!" she insisted.

"It was Christopher Nash," I said.

"Then that's the reason I was placed in this body. I must defeat him," she said.

"It could be," I said. "But would you be needed if he hadn't been born at all?"

She couldn't answer. Finally she asked, "Do you know who I was before?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes. Only one child of Hades has been reborn in the last century," I said.

"Who?" she asked.

"Nico's sister, Bianca Di Angelo."


End file.
